University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. Decreases Stock Holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. cut its stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 3.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,852 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 600 shares during the period. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $1,059,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Diversified Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group during the 2nd quarter worth $725,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Essent Group by 38.7% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 177,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,542,000 after acquiring an additional 49,393 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the first quarter valued at about $780,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $977,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Essent Group by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,477,434 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $605,320,000 after purchasing an additional 75,825 shares during the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essent Group Stock Down 0.7 %

ESNT stock opened at $63.82 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.12. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52-week low of $45.63 and a 52-week high of $65.33. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $62.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.42.

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

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. Essent Group’s payout ratio is 16.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Essent Group news, SVP Vijay Bhasin sold 11,188 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.14, for a total transaction of $672,846.32. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 199,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,989,450.26. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Roy James Kasmar sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.81, for a total transaction of $294,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 27,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,596,103.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Vijay Bhasin sold 11,188 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.14, for a total value of $672,846.32. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 199,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,989,450.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 18,188 shares of company stock valued at $1,094,076. Insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Essent Group 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.