Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Has $12.75 Million Holdings in Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 209,902 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,243 shares during the quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $12,747,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Essent Group by 20.2% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 39,301 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,268,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Essent Group by 5.7% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,721 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $215,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co raised its stake in Essent Group by 2.3% in the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 16,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $972,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Essent Group by 20.6% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,268 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $131,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the period. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Essent Group Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE ESNT opened at $59.48 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $62.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $59.24. The stock has a market cap of $5.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.88. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52-week low of $51.61 and a 52-week high of $65.90. 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 (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $319.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $317.46 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 56.36% and a return on equity of 12.66%. Essent Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.91 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 29th. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of Essent Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $60.00 target price on Essent Group and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Barclays lifted their price target on Essent Group from $59.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “cautious” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $65.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $260,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 243,023 shares in the company, valued at $15,796,495. This represents a 1.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director William Spiegel sold 6,451 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.74, for a total transaction of $404,735.74. Following the sale, the director directly owned 26,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,647,050.48. This represents a 19.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 28,190 shares of company stock valued at $1,802,316 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

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.