Natixis Advisors LLC Buys 2,532 Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 22.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,706 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,532 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $881,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its stake in Essent Group by 2.8% in the third 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 during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 0.4% during the second quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 50,569 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,841,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Essent Group by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 15,552 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,000,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Provident Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Essent Group by 2.5% during 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 during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Essent Group by 49.7% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,187 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 394 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.59, for a total transaction 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 7.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Price Performance

Essent Group stock opened at $57.74 on Thursday. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1-year low of $47.56 and a 1-year high of $65.33. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $60.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.37, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.12.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.08). Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 60.15%. The business had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $316.80 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.66 EPS. Essent Group’s revenue was up 969.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. Essent Group’s payout ratio is 16.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ESNT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. BTIG Research upped their target price on Essent Group from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Essent Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $65.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.