Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT Shares Sold by Cooke & Bieler LP

Cooke & Bieler LP lowered its position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 9.8% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,487,879 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 162,243 shares during the quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $86,163,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Essent Group by 102.3% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,943 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $344,000 after acquiring an additional 3,005 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 70.8% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 109,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,321,000 after purchasing an additional 45,239 shares in the last quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group lifted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 10.7% in the 3rd quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 9,228 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $543,000 after purchasing an additional 894 shares in the last quarter. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $244,000. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 33.8% during the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 12,085 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $699,000 after purchasing an additional 3,055 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Trading Down 2.6%

NYSE:ESNT opened at $64.12 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $66.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.18. Essent Group Ltd. has a 12 month low of $55.34 and a 12 month high of $70.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.76 billion, a PE ratio of 8.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.76.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter. Essent Group had a return on equity of 11.91% and a net margin of 51.45%. The company had revenue of $362.69 million for the quarter. Research analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st were given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 31st. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Essent Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Essent Group in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $71.14.

Insider Activity at Essent Group

In related news, CEO Mark Casale sold 798 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.01, for a total transaction of $55,867.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,038,893 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $142,742,898.93. This trade represents a 0.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.70, for a total transaction of $174,250.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 30,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,101,733.80. The trade was a 7.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 70,146 shares of company stock valued at $4,900,365. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Essent Group Company Profile

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE: ESNT) is a Bermuda-based holding company that provides private mortgage insurance and related risk-management services in the United States. Through its operating subsidiaries, the company helps protect mortgage lenders and investors against losses when borrowers default on residential mortgage loans.

Its principal business is mortgage insurance for low-down-payment conventional residential mortgages, enabling qualified borrowers to obtain home financing with less than a 20% down payment.