Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC Boosts Stock Position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC increased its stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 4.1% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 12,895 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 506 shares during the quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $767,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Essent Group by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,453,168 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $68,720,000 after buying an additional 14,145 shares during the last quarter. Fairman Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,195,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Essent Group by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,477,434 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $605,320,000 after buying an additional 75,825 shares during the last quarter. NFC Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,976,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $837,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ESNT traded up $0.86 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $56.58. 351,211 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 514,001. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $55.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $54.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.56, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.11. Essent Group Ltd. has a one year low of $44.96 and a one year high of $59.90.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The financial services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.14. Essent Group had a return on equity of 14.24% and a net margin of 61.40%. The company had revenue of $298.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $298.69 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.59 EPS. Essent Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st were issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 31st. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on ESNT shares. StockNews.com downgraded Essent Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $58.00 to $61.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Essent Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. UBS Group increased their target price on Essent Group from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Essent Group from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $59.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.12, for a total value of $140,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,112 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,521,525.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 3.20% of the stock is owned by 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.