World Investment Advisors LLC Invests $686,000 in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 10,672 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $686,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Essent Group by 154.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 208,927 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $13,431,000 after acquiring an additional 126,899 shares during the period. iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new position in Essent Group during the 3rd quarter worth $407,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Essent Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $215,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,206,325 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $270,425,000 after buying an additional 59,750 shares during the period. Finally, Petrus Trust Company LTA grew its position in shares of Essent Group by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. Petrus Trust Company LTA now owns 10,294 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $662,000 after buying an additional 1,245 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ESNT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays decreased their price objective on Essent Group from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Essent Group from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $64.71.

Essent Group Price Performance

NYSE ESNT traded down $1.00 on Tuesday, hitting $54.63. The stock had a trading volume of 655,990 shares, compared to its average volume of 537,930. The business's fifty day moving average price is $58.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $59.54. The stock has a market cap of $5.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.09. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52-week low of $50.65 and a 52-week high of $65.33.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 business had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $316.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.66 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 969.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.94 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.59, for a total value of $127,180.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 25,416 shares in the company, valued at $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 available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.90% of the company's stock.

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.