Victory Capital Management Inc. Has $4.44 Million Stock Holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Victory Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 17.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 69,060 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 15,103 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.06% of Essent Group worth $4,440,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Essent Group by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,680,074 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $262,973,000 after purchasing an additional 445,853 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 68.8% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 436,009 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $24,499,000 after acquiring an additional 177,700 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 361,028 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $20,286,000 after acquiring an additional 3,507 shares in the last quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $11,731,000 after purchasing an additional 2,668 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Essent Group by 38.7% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 177,127 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,542,000 after purchasing an additional 49,393 shares in the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essent Group Price Performance

Shares of ESNT stock traded up $0.83 during trading on Friday, reaching $56.76. The company had a trading volume of 686,370 shares, compared to its average volume of 889,741. The company has a market capitalization of $6.03 billion, a PE ratio of 8.22, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.12. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $60.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.46. Essent Group Ltd. has a one year low of $47.56 and a one year high of $65.33.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $3.17 billion for 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%. Essent Group's quarterly revenue was up 969.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.66 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Essent Group

In other news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.59, for a total transaction of $127,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 25,416 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,616,203.44. This represents a 7.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on ESNT. 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 report on Monday, August 5th. Barclays dropped their target price on Essent Group from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $67.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Essent Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $65.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Essent Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.