HighTower Advisors LLC Acquires New Position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 20,287 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,313,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Summit Global Investments raised its position in shares of Essent Group by 4.9% during the second quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 24,105 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,354,000 after purchasing an additional 1,120 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in Essent Group by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 23,332 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,311,000 after buying an additional 1,088 shares during the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Essent Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $3,721,000. Peregrine Capital Management LLC raised its position in Essent Group by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC now owns 208,772 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $11,731,000 after buying an additional 2,668 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in Essent Group by 17.4% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 46,490 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,612,000 after buying an additional 6,887 shares during the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Essent Group Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of ESNT stock traded down $1.00 on Tuesday, hitting $54.63. 655,990 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 537,929. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.80 billion, a PE ratio of 8.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.09. Essent Group Ltd. has a one year low of $50.65 and a one year high of $65.33. The firm's 50 day moving average is $58.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.54.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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). Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 60.15%. The firm had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $316.80 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.66 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 969.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction of $127,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 2.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.