111 Capital Takes $557,000 Position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

111 Capital bought a new position in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 10,240 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $557,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. NFC Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Essent Group by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. NFC Investments LLC now owns 56,688 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,086,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings 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 worth $129,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its holdings in Essent Group by 68.8% in the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 584 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in Essent Group by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 6,988 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $380,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Essent Group by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 47,469 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,584,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on ESNT. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, May 9th. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, May 9th. Compass Point set a $69.00 price target on Essent Group and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Essent Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $60.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essent Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $63.29.

Essent Group Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of ESNT traded down $0.51 during trading on Monday, reaching $57.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 553,938 shares, compared to its average volume of 645,668. The company has a market cap of $5.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.87. Essent Group Ltd. has a twelve month low of $51.61 and a twelve month high of $65.34. The company has a fifty day moving average of $56.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.46.

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

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.16%.

Insider Activity at Essent Group

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