499 Shares in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Purchased by Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 499 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $32,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Inspire Investing LLC raised its stake in Essent Group by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 6,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $413,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Essent Group by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 50,569 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,841,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in Essent Group by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 10,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $613,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. Provident Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Essent Group by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Provident Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $790,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Essent Group by 49.7% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,187 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Essent Group news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.59, for a total transaction of $127,180.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 25,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,616,203.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Price Performance

ESNT stock opened at $55.25 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.32. The stock has a market cap of $5.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $3.17 billion for 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%. Essent Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 969.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.66 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Essent Group’s payout ratio is 16.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.