Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Shares Acquired by Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 13.8% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 6,694 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 810 shares during the quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $376,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group in the fourth quarter valued at $365,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Essent Group by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 35,191 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,856,000 after buying an additional 3,816 shares during the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC boosted its stake in Essent Group by 23.3% in the 4th quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 30,811 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,625,000 after buying an additional 5,831 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in Essent Group by 31.2% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 650,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,295,000 after buying an additional 154,591 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CenterBook Partners LP acquired a new stake in Essent Group in the 4th quarter worth about $358,000. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essent Group Stock Performance

ESNT opened at $63.87 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $6.81 billion, a PE ratio of 9.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $62.12 and a 200-day moving average of $58.29. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52-week low of $45.63 and a 52-week high of $65.33.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last posted 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. Essent Group had a return on equity of 14.40% and a net margin of 61.31%. The business had revenue of $272.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $308.33 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.61 EPS. Essent Group’s revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ESNT shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Essent Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $65.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Essent Group from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Essent Group from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Barclays lifted their target price on Essent Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their price objective on Essent Group from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report 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.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $64.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.59, for a total value of $127,180.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 25,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,616,203.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Roy James Kasmar sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.81, for a total value of $294,050.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 27,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,596,103.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 18,188 shares of company stock worth $1,094,076. Corporate insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

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.