Prana Capital Management LP Invests $5.74 Million in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Prana Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 105,393 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,738,000. Prana Capital Management LP owned approximately 0.10% of Essent Group as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 41.1% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 34,361 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,871,000 after buying an additional 10,009 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $766,000. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP purchased a new stake in Essent Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $234,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Essent Group by 215.1% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 86,087 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,687,000 after buying an additional 58,768 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in Essent Group by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 59,424 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,235,000 after buying an additional 2,301 shares during the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.80, for a total value of $179,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 27,165 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,624,467. The trade was a 9.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 1,777 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.07, for a total transaction of $106,744.39. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 253,022 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,199,031.54. The trade was a 0.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 5,001 shares of company stock valued at $299,591. 2.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on ESNT. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, May 9th. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Essent Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $60.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.71.

Essent Group Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:ESNT traded up $0.06 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $59.52. 141,747 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 773,018. The company has a market cap of $6.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $56.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $56.29. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52-week low of $51.61 and a 52-week high of $65.33.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 9th. The financial services provider reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $317.56 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $311.18 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 58.69% and a return on equity of 13.35%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.70 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Essent Group's payout ratio is presently 18.16%.

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.