World Investment Advisors LLC Acquires New Holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 10,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $686,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ESNT. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 726.8% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 463 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Essent Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Quarry LP boosted its position in Essent Group by 167.1% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 836 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 523 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Essent Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 53.9% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ESNT. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Essent Group from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Essent Group from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $64.71.

Essent Group Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE:ESNT opened at $55.61 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $58.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.54. The stock has a market cap of $5.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.06, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.09. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1-year low of $50.65 and a 1-year high of $65.33.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.08). Essent Group had a net margin of 60.15% and a return on equity of 13.81%. The business had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $316.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.66 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 969.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.94 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.23%.

Insider Transactions at Essent Group

In other Essent Group news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 25,416 shares in the company, valued at $1,616,203.44. The trade was a 7.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.