Bessemer Group Inc. Lowers Position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Bessemer Group Inc. trimmed its position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 14.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 262,108 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 44,843 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. owned 0.25% of Essent Group worth $15,597,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Essent Group by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,917,819 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $709,229,000 after acquiring an additional 440,385 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Essent Group by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,025,836 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $212,326,000 after buying an additional 258,246 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Essent Group by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,496,741 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $78,938,000 after acquiring an additional 25,483 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Essent Group by 10.7% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,247,184 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $74,220,000 after acquiring an additional 120,881 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the fourth quarter worth $60,678,000. Institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ESNT. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Essent Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays lifted 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. UBS Group upped their price target on Essent Group from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Essent Group from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Essent Group from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.88.

Essent Group Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE:ESNT traded up $1.46 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $61.99. The stock had a trading volume of 90,152 shares, compared to its average volume of 510,386. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1 year low of $45.63 and a 1 year high of $62.06. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $56.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.47. The company has a market cap of $6.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.11.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 3rd. The financial services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.14. Essent Group had a net margin of 61.40% and a return on equity of 14.24%. The business had revenue of $298.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $298.69 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.59 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st were paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 31st. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essent Group

In other Essent Group news, SVP Vijay Bhasin sold 11,188 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,989,450.26. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 2,500 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.12, for a total transaction of $140,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,112 shares in the company, valued at $1,521,525.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Vijay Bhasin sold 11,188 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 199,359 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,989,450.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.