Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Stock Position Reduced by Clearbridge Investments LLC

Clearbridge Investments LLC reduced its position in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 246,871 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,799 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned about 0.23% of Essent Group worth $13,872,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Essent Group by 3.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,917,819 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $709,229,000 after acquiring an additional 440,385 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,680,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $262,973,000 after purchasing an additional 445,853 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 10.7% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,247,184 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $74,220,000 after purchasing an additional 120,881 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 94.1% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 739,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,019,000 after purchasing an additional 358,621 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 154,591 shares during the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Essent Group

In related news, SVP Vijay Bhasin sold 11,188 shares of Essent Group 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,989,450.26. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Essent Group 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 25,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,616,203.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Vijay Bhasin sold 11,188 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was 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 directly owns 199,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,989,450.26. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, 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 analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays raised their price target on Essent Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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 raised their price target on Essent Group from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Essent Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $65.00 to $70.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, BTIG Research raised their price target on Essent Group from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Essent Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.33.

Essent Group Price Performance

ESNT opened at $64.19 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 $6.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.12. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $62.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.56.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The financial services provider reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $272.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $308.33 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.61 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.02 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.94%.

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.