Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT Shares Purchased by Fairvoy Private Wealth LLC

Fairvoy Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the period. Fairvoy Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $2,654,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in Essent Group in the 1st quarter valued at $46,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in Essent Group by 330.6% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,098 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 843 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in Essent Group by 20.2% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Essent Group in the 1st quarter valued at $99,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in Essent Group by 32.9% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,717 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 425 shares in the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essent Group Stock Performance

Shares of ESNT stock opened at $61.24 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. Essent Group Ltd. has a one year low of $51.61 and a one year high of $65.90. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $61.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.94, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.88.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.25. Essent Group had a net margin of 56.36% and a return on equity of 12.66%. The business had revenue of $319.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $317.46 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.91 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.10%.

Insider Activity at Essent Group

In other news, Director William Spiegel sold 6,451 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.74, for a total transaction of $404,735.74. Following the transaction, the director owned 26,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,647,050.48. This trade represents a 19.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Vijay Bhasin sold 11,479 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $746,135.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 196,922 shares in the company, valued at $12,799,930. This represents a 5.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 28,190 shares of company stock worth $1,802,316. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. DOWLING & PARTN downgraded Essent Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Barclays raised their target price on Essent Group from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Compass Point restated a “buy” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $60.00 target price on Essent Group and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essent Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.67.

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.