Metis Global Partners LLC Decreases Stock Position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Metis Global Partners LLC lessened its position in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 8.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,061 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 396 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $261,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Essent Group by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,917,819 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $709,229,000 after acquiring an additional 440,385 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,680,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $262,973,000 after buying an additional 445,853 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 68.8% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 436,009 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,499,000 after buying an additional 177,700 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in Essent Group by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 361,028 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,286,000 after buying an additional 3,507 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in Essent Group by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 252,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,036,000 after buying an additional 5,376 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on ESNT. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Essent Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $65.00 to $70.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays decreased their price target on Essent Group from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of 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, BTIG Research upped their target price on shares of Essent Group from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.00.

Essent Group Stock Performance

NYSE ESNT opened at $55.79 on Wednesday. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52-week low of $47.56 and a 52-week high of $65.33. The company has a fifty day moving average of $61.21 and a 200-day moving average of $59.50. The company has a market capitalization of $5.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.12.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $316.80 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 60.15%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 969.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.66 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essent Group

In other Essent Group news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.59, for a total value of $127,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 25,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,616,203.44. The trade was a 7.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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, as well as risk management products and title insurance and settlement services.