Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Acquires 445,853 Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,680,074 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 445,853 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 4.39% of Essent Group worth $262,973,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of ESNT. Advisors Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the second quarter worth $47,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 49.7% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,187 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $176,000. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $200,000. Institutional investors own 93.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ESNT. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a 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 stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Essent Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the company from $65.00 to $70.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Essent Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $64.33.

Essent Group Trading Up 1.2 %

ESNT traded up $0.79 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $64.28. The stock had a trading volume of 446,653 shares, compared to its average volume of 498,298. The firm has a market cap of $6.86 billion, a PE ratio of 9.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $57.77. Essent Group Ltd. has a 12 month low of $45.63 and a 12 month high of $65.08.

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

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.94%.

Insider Activity at Essent Group

In other Essent Group news, Director Roy James Kasmar sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.81, for a total value of $294,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 27,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,596,103.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Essent Group news, SVP Vijay Bhasin sold 11,188 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were 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 owns 199,359 shares in the company, valued at $11,989,450.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Roy James Kasmar sold 5,000 shares of the company's 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 completion of the sale, 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 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.