Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Shares Sold by Albion Financial Group UT

Albion Financial Group UT decreased its holdings in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 7.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,421 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 256 shares during the quarter. Albion Financial Group UT’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $204,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,543 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 48,198 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,542,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. State of Michigan Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 26,133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,555,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC increased its stake in Essent Group by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC now owns 12,895 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $767,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Stock Performance

NYSE ESNT opened at $55.90 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.96 billion, a PE ratio of 8.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $54.85. Essent Group Ltd. has a twelve month low of $44.96 and a twelve month high of $59.90.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 3rd. The financial services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.14. Essent Group had a return on equity of 14.24% and a net margin of 61.40%. The company had revenue of $298.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $298.69 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.59 earnings per share. Essent Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st were issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 31st. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. Essent Group’s payout ratio is 16.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on ESNT shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $58.00 to $61.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Essent Group from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Essent Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $59.25.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 2,500 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.12, for a total transaction of $140,300.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 27,112 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,521,525.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.