Kingsview Wealth Management LLC Acquires New Stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Kingsview Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 34,359 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,209,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ESNT. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake 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 worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the second quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Quarry LP raised its stake in Essent Group by 167.1% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 836 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 523 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Essent Group

In related news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.59, for a total transaction of $127,180.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 25,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ESNT shares. BTIG Research raised their target price on Essent Group from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Essent Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $65.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Essent Group from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.00.

Essent Group Trading Up 2.4 %

Essent Group stock opened at $58.12 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.12. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $60.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.52. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1-year low of $47.56 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $316.80 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 60.15% and a return on equity of 13.81%. Essent Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 969.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.66 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.95 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.23%.

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.