Bank of New York Mellon Corp Has $103.75 Million Stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp cut its stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 4.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,846,480 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 87,630 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 1.73% of Essent Group worth $103,754,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ESNT. Summit Global Investments boosted its stake in Essent Group by 4.9% during the 2nd 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. Ellsworth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 6.6% during the second quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 9,572 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $538,000 after buying an additional 590 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group during the second quarter worth about $725,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in Essent Group by 147.5% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 33,597 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,888,000 after acquiring an additional 20,023 shares during the period. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Essent Group by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,968 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $392,000 after acquiring an additional 685 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ESNT has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Essent Group from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Essent Group from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Essent Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their price objective on Essent Group from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $64.33.

Insider Activity at Essent Group

In other news, Director Roy James Kasmar sold 5,000 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.81, for a total transaction of $294,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 27,140 shares in the company, valued at $1,596,103.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Essent Group news, SVP Vijay Bhasin sold 11,188 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.14, for a total value of $672,846.32. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 199,359 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,989,450.26. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Roy James Kasmar sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.81, for a total transaction of $294,050.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 27,140 shares in the company, valued at $1,596,103.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Essent Group Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:ESNT traded up $0.39 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $63.49. 175,867 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 503,937. The company has a market cap of $6.77 billion, a PE ratio of 9.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $59.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $56.69. Essent Group Ltd. has a 12-month low of $45.63 and a 12-month high of $64.05.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.23. Essent Group had a return on equity of 14.24% and a net margin of 61.40%. The company had revenue of $272.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $308.33 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.61 earnings per share. Essent Group's revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.94%.

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.