Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Shares Purchased by Barclays PLC

Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 154.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 208,927 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 126,899 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned 0.20% of Essent Group worth $13,431,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Essent Group by 10.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,680,074 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $262,973,000 after buying an additional 445,853 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group during the 2nd quarter worth $605,000. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in shares of Essent Group by 163.4% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 44,676 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,872,000 after acquiring an additional 27,717 shares during the last quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the second quarter valued at about $526,000. Finally, Paralel Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the second quarter valued at about $2,155,000. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on ESNT shares. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Essent Group from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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 report on Monday, December 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Essent Group from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essent Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $64.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.59, for a total value of $127,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 25,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,616,203.44. This trade represents a 7.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Essent Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ESNT traded up $0.42 during trading on Monday, reaching $55.61. The stock had a trading volume of 1,001,339 shares, compared to its average volume of 536,824. The company has a market cap of $5.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.06, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.09. Essent Group Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $50.65 and a fifty-two week high of $65.33. The business's 50-day moving average price is $58.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.54.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $316.80 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 60.15% and a return on equity of 13.81%. The business's revenue was up 969.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.66 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Essent Group's payout ratio is currently 16.23%.

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.