Victory Capital Management Inc. Lowers Position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Victory Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 17.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 69,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 15,103 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $4,440,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,680,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $262,973,000 after purchasing an additional 445,853 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Essent Group by 68.8% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 436,009 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,499,000 after buying an additional 177,700 shares during the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,748,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in shares of Essent Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,416,000. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Essent Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,721,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays dropped their target price on Essent Group from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Essent Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $65.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their target price on shares of Essent Group from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essent Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.00.

Insider Activity at Essent Group

In other Essent Group news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.59, for a total value of $127,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 25,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,616,203.44. This represents a 7.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 2.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Essent Group Stock Up 1.4 %

Essent Group stock opened at $56.74 on Friday. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52 week low of $47.56 and a 52 week high of $65.33. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $60.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.46. The company has a market capitalization of $6.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.12.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $316.80 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 60.15%. The firm’s revenue was up 969.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.66 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.23%.

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.