Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Stock Holdings Lessened by Captrust Financial Advisors

Captrust Financial Advisors trimmed its stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 65.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,441 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,345 shares during the quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors’ holdings in Essent Group were worth $286,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ESNT. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 726.8% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 463 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the third quarter worth $32,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Essent Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $47,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in Essent Group by 167.1% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 836 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 523 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Essent Group by 53.9% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Essent Group 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 directly owns 25,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,616,203.44. This represents a 7.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 2.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on ESNT shares. 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. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Essent Group from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Essent Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $64.71.

Essent Group Stock Performance

Shares of ESNT stock opened at $55.19 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.00, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.09. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52 week low of $50.65 and a 52 week high of $65.33. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.51.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $316.80 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 60.15% and a return on equity of 13.81%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 969.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.66 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.94 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Essent Group’s payout ratio is 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.