12,895 Shares in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Bought by Diversified Trust Co

Diversified Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 12,895 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $725,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of ESNT. Advisors Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Essent Group during the 1st quarter worth $32,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in Essent Group during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in Essent Group by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,543 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Essent Group during the 4th quarter worth $200,000. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC bought a new position in Essent Group during the 1st quarter worth $215,000. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essent Group

In other Essent Group news, Director Roy James Kasmar sold 5,000 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.81, for a total transaction of $294,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 27,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,596,103.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Vijay Bhasin sold 11,188 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.14, for a total value of $672,846.32. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 199,359 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,989,450.26. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Roy James Kasmar sold 5,000 shares of the business’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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,596,103.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on Essent Group from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Essent Group from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Essent Group from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Essent Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $65.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Essent Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.33.

Essent Group Trading Down 0.2 %

Essent Group stock traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $59.02. The stock had a trading volume of 15,074 shares, compared to its average volume of 511,965. The company has a market capitalization of $6.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.95, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.11. Essent Group Ltd. has a 12 month low of $45.63 and a 12 month high of $64.05. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $58.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $56.13.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $272.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $308.33 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 14.24% and a net margin of 61.40%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.61 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.94%.

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.