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

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 1,679.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 149,078 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 140,699 shares during the quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned about 0.14% of Essent Group worth $8,116,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its position in shares of Essent Group by 68.8% during 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 period. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 53.3% during 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 in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Essent Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its stake in Essent Group by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,363 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $129,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Essent Group news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 1,777 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.07, for a total value of $106,744.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 253,022 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,199,031.54. This represents a 0.70% 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. Also, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 3,000 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.80, for a total transaction of $179,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,165 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,624,467. This trade represents a 9.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,001 shares of company stock worth $299,591. Corporate insiders own 2.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, May 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" 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. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, May 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essent Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $61.71.

Essent Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ESNT traded down $0.42 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $59.41. 498,250 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 640,091. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $56.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.25. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1-year low of $51.61 and a 1-year high of $65.34. The stock has a market cap of $6.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.69, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.87.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 9th. The financial services provider reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.70 EPS. Essent Group's revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio is 18.16%.

Essent Group 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.