Centaurus Financial Inc. Takes $130,000 Position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Centaurus Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 2,023 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $130,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 726.8% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 463 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Essent Group in the third quarter worth about $32,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Essent Group in the first quarter worth about $32,000. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Essent Group by 167.1% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 836 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 523 shares during the period. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Essent Group in the second quarter worth about $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Essent Group news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.59, for a total transaction of $127,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 25,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,616,203.44. This trade represents a 7.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on ESNT. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Essent Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $65.00 to $70.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. BTIG Research upped their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.00.

Essent Group Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of Essent Group stock opened at $57.74 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $60.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.50. The company has a market cap of $6.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.37, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.12. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1 year low of $47.56 and a 1 year high of $65.33.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.08). The company 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 company’s revenue was up 969.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.66 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.