Federated Hermes Inc. Lowers Holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Federated Hermes Inc. trimmed its holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 10,939 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 522 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $615,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESNT. Advisors Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Essent Group in the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Essent Group in the second quarter worth approximately $47,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Essent Group by 49.7% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,187 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Essent Group in the second quarter worth approximately $176,000. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Essent Group in the first quarter worth approximately $215,000. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essent Group Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE ESNT opened at $63.52 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $6.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.61, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.12. Essent Group Ltd. has a 12-month low of $45.63 and a 12-month high of $65.33. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $61.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.99.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share (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 business 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 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essent Group

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on ESNT shares. BTIG Research raised their price target on Essent Group from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research 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 research report on Monday, August 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded 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 research report on Monday, August 5th. 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 research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Essent Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Three investment 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.