Freedom Investment Management Inc. Reduces Position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Freedom Investment Management Inc. lowered its holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 11.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,740 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 482 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $240,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 6,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $413,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in 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 valued at $2,841,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Essent Group by 2.0% during 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 position in shares of Essent Group by 2.5% in 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 last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Essent Group by 49.7% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,187 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 25,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,616,203.44. This represents 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 the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on ESNT. Barclays decreased their price target on Essent Group from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. BTIG Research increased 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of 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. Four 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.00.

Essent Group Stock Performance

ESNT stock opened at $57.78 on Monday. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1 year low of $47.56 and a 1 year high of $65.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.37, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.12. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $60.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.56.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 60.15% and a return on equity of 13.81%. The firm had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $316.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.66 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 969.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

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

About Essent Group

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.