Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Shares Bought by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,551,145 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 12,431 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 1.46% of Essent Group worth $99,723,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESNT. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its stake in Essent Group by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 6,418 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $413,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Essent Group by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 50,569 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,841,000 after buying an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Essent Group by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 15,552 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,000,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. Provident Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Provident Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,060 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $790,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Essent Group by 49.7% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,187 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essent Group Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE ESNT traded down $0.37 on Wednesday, hitting $57.75. 661,019 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 931,501. Essent Group Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $47.56 and a fifty-two week high of $65.33. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $60.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.53. The company has a market cap of $6.13 billion, a PE ratio of 8.37, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.12.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $316.80 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 60.15%. Essent Group's revenue was up 969.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.66 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Essent Group's payout ratio is 16.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.59, for a total transaction of $127,180.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 25,416 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,616,203.44. This trade represents a 7.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Essent Group from $68.00 to $67.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Essent Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $65.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Essent Group from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $65.00.

Essent Group 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.