4,274 Shares in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Acquired by Prudent Man Advisors LLC

Prudent Man Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 4,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $200,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESNT. Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in Essent Group by 5.2% during the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 70,128 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,889,000 after purchasing an additional 3,493 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 10.5% in the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 40,472 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,668,000 after purchasing an additional 3,859 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in Essent Group by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 14,995,922 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $617,982,000 after buying an additional 71,629 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Essent Group by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 59,234 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,441,000 after buying an additional 1,187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Essent Group by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,798,959 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $74,139,000 after buying an additional 103,375 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on ESNT. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Essent Group from $50.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Sunday, August 6th. BTIG Research upped their price target on Essent Group from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 4th. StockNews.com began coverage on Essent Group in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Essent Group from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $59.00 target price on shares of Essent Group in a report on Monday, September 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Essent Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $56.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essent Group

In other news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.80, for a total transaction of $747,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 261,324 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,013,935.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Essent Group news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.80, for a total transaction of $747,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 261,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,013,935.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.20, for a total value of $96,400.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 25,648 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,236,233.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Essent Group Stock Performance

NYSE:ESNT opened at $48.77 on Tuesday. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1 year low of $36.53 and a 1 year high of $53.66. The stock has a market cap of $5.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.83, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.77.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 11th. Investors of record on Friday, December 1st will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 30th. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.05%.

Essent Group Company 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.