ProShare Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

ProShare Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 20.7% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 19,079 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,968 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $1,072,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Essent Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group in the 2nd quarter worth $47,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 49.7% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,187 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Essent Group during the second quarter valued at $176,000. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Essent Group during the first quarter valued at $215,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE ESNT opened at $63.87 on Friday. Essent Group Ltd. has a 12 month low of $45.63 and a 12 month high of $65.33. The stock has a market cap of $6.81 billion, a PE ratio of 9.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.12. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $62.12 and its 200 day moving average is $58.26.

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

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.94%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.59, for a total value of $127,180.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 25,416 shares in the company, valued at $1,616,203.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 25,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,616,203.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Vijay Bhasin sold 11,188 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.14, for a total transaction of $672,846.32. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 199,359 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,989,450.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,188 shares of company stock worth $1,094,076 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ESNT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Essent Group from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. BTIG Research increased their target price 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Essent Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $65.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Essent Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $64.33.

About Essent Group

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.