Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC Purchases 1,091 Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,019 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,091 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $956,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 13.8% in the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 6,694 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $376,000 after purchasing an additional 810 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Essent Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $804,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Essent Group by 10.5% during 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 buying an additional 445,853 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 50,569 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,841,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vest Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 29.5% in the 2nd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 19,448 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,093,000 after acquiring an additional 4,427 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Trading Up 1.1 %

ESNT opened at $64.20 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $61.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.06. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1-year low of $45.63 and a 1-year high of $65.33. The stock has a market cap of $6.85 billion, a PE ratio of 9.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.12.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $272.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $308.33 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 61.31% and a return on equity of 14.40%. The company’s revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.61 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Essent Group

In other news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.59, for a total transaction of $127,180.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 25,416 shares in the company, valued at $1,616,203.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.59, for a total value of $127,180.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 25,416 shares in the company, valued at $1,616,203.44. The transaction 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 firm’s 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 199,359 shares in the company, valued at $11,989,450.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,188 shares of company stock worth $1,094,076 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays upped their target price 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. increased their price objective on Essent Group from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a 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 stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Essent Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $65.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essent Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.