Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Holdings Lifted by Assetmark Inc.

Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 32.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 60,748 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 14,941 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc. owned 0.06% of Essent Group worth $3,905,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Essent Group by 726.8% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 463 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Essent Group during the first quarter worth $32,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Essent Group during the third quarter worth $32,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Essent Group in the second quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Quarry LP grew its holdings in Essent Group by 167.1% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 836 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 523 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.59, for a total value of $127,180.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 25,416 shares in the company, valued at $1,616,203.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 2.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Essent Group Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE:ESNT traded down $0.17 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $56.88. 1,012,069 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 522,710. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.43. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52 week low of $47.56 and a 52 week high of $65.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.12.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $316.80 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 60.15%. The company's revenue for the quarter 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, analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Essent Group's payout ratio is currently 16.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective 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. Barclays reduced their target price on Essent Group from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. BTIG Research raised their price objective on Essent Group from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Essent Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the company from $65.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Essent Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $65.00.

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.