Interval Partners LP Sells 32,210 Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Interval Partners LP lessened its position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 9.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 300,221 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 32,210 shares during the period. Interval Partners LP owned 0.28% of Essent Group worth $17,866,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ESNT. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Essent Group by 38.7% in the first 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 during the last quarter. Keeley Teton Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Essent Group by 12.7% in the 1st quarter. Keeley Teton Advisors LLC now owns 33,463 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,991,000 after buying an additional 3,782 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $8,742,000. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 2.2% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 252,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,036,000 after acquiring an additional 5,376 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Essent Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Essent Group from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Essent Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Essent Group from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Essent Group from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Essent Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $59.88.

Essent Group Trading Up 1.0 %

ESNT traded up $0.60 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $62.57. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 567,911 shares, compared to its average volume of 516,937. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1 year low of $45.63 and a 1 year high of $63.15. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $57.32 and its 200-day moving average is $55.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.37, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.11.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The financial services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $298.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $298.69 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 14.24% and a net margin of 61.40%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.59 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st were given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 31st. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.12, for a total value of $140,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 27,112 shares in the company, valued at $1,521,525.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related 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 directly owns 199,359 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,989,450.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.12, for a total value of $140,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,112 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,521,525.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.