American Century Companies Inc. Sells 25,865 Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

American Century Companies Inc. reduced its position in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 897,522 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 25,865 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.84% of Essent Group worth $50,432,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Advisors Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Essent Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Essent Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $47,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Essent Group by 49.7% in 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 period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Essent Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $176,000. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC bought a new position in Essent Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $215,000. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Essent Group Stock Down 1.3 %

ESNT stock traded down $0.83 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $63.49. 479,910 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 498,585. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $61.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $57.70. The stock has a market cap of $6.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.12. Essent Group Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $45.63 and a fifty-two week high of $64.76.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.23. Essent Group had a return on equity of 14.40% and a net margin of 61.31%. The business had revenue of $272.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $308.33 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.61 earnings per share. Essent Group's revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ESNT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Essent Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Essent Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $65.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Monday, August 5th. BTIG Research raised their target price on Essent Group from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Essent Group from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Essent Group presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $64.33.

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.