D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Increases Position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 1,679.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 149,078 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 140,699 shares during the quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned approximately 0.14% of Essent Group worth $8,116,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ESNT. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its position in Essent Group by 68.8% in the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 584 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its position in Essent Group by 53.3% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,125 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group during the 4th quarter valued at $63,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,363 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $129,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Essent Group Stock Performance

Essent Group stock traded down $0.83 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $58.30. 71,044 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 769,276. The company has a market cap of $5.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.51, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $56.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $56.31. 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 quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 9th. The financial services provider reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.03. Essent Group had a net margin of 58.69% and a return on equity of 13.35%. The company had revenue of $317.56 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $311.18 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.70 earnings per share. Essent Group's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essent Group

In related news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 1,777 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 253,022 shares in the company, valued at $15,199,031.54. This trade represents a 0.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 3,000 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.80, for a total transaction of $179,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,624,467. The trade was a 9.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,001 shares of company stock worth $299,591 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.