Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Has $519,000 Position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. lessened its position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 96.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 258,029 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $519,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ESNT. Advisors Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Essent Group in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Essent Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $47,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Essent Group by 49.7% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,187 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $176,000. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $200,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on ESNT shares. Barclays upped their price target on Essent Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. UBS Group upped their price target on Essent Group from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Essent Group from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. BTIG Research upped their price target on Essent Group from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Essent Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $65.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Roy James Kasmar sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.81, for a total transaction of $294,050.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,596,103.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Roy James Kasmar sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.81, for a total transaction of $294,050.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,596,103.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Vijay Bhasin sold 11,188 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.14, for a total value of $672,846.32. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 199,359 shares in the company, valued at $11,989,450.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Essent Group Price Performance

Shares of Essent Group stock opened at $63.72 on Friday. Essent Group Ltd. has a one year low of $45.63 and a one year high of $64.69. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $61.08 and its 200 day moving average is $57.60. The firm has a market cap of $6.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.64, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.12.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The financial services provider reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.23. Essent Group had a return on equity of 14.40% and a net margin of 61.31%. The company had revenue of $272.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $308.33 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.61 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.94%.

Essent Group Company Profile

Essent Group Ltd., through its subsidiaries, provides private mortgage insurance and reinsurance for mortgages secured by residential properties located in the United States. Its mortgage insurance products include primary, pool, and master policy. The company also provides information technology maintenance and development services; customer support-related services; underwriting consulting; and contract underwriting services, as well as risk management products and title insurance and settlement services.