Eisler Capital Management Ltd. Purchases Shares of 5,891 Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT

Key Points

• Eisler Capital Management Ltd. acquired 5,891 shares of Essent Group Ltd. valued at approximately $340,000 during the first quarter, reflecting continued institutional interest in the company.
• Essent Group reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.93, exceeding analyst expectations, and a revenue of $319.14 million, marking a 2.0% increase year-over-year.
• The firm has announced a $0.31 quarterly dividend to be paid on September 10th, with a dividend yield of 2.0% and a payout ratio of 18.10%.

Eisler Capital Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 5,891 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $340,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Essent Group during the 1st quarter valued at $993,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd raised its stake in Essent Group by 280.5% during the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 10,328 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $596,000 after purchasing an additional 7,614 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Essent Group during the 1st quarter valued at $332,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Essent Group by 16.6% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,111 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $468,000 after purchasing an additional 1,157 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 66.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,953 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $113,000 after acquiring an additional 778 shares in the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essent Group Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE:ESNT traded down $0.15 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $62.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 87,475 shares, compared to its average volume of 731,676. The company has a market cap of $6.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.86. Essent Group Ltd. has a one year low of $51.61 and a one year high of $65.33. The business's 50-day moving average is $59.53 and its 200-day moving average is $57.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $319.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $317.46 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 56.36% and a return on equity of 12.66%. Essent Group's revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.91 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Essent Group news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.79, for a total transaction of $146,975.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 27,365 shares in the company, valued at $1,608,788.35. This represents a 8.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director William Spiegel sold 6,451 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.74, for a total transaction of $404,735.74. Following the sale, the director owned 26,252 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,647,050.48. This trade represents a 19.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 14,950 shares of company stock worth $919,651. Corporate insiders own 3.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, August 8th. DOWLING & PARTN downgraded shares of Essent Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Essent Group from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Compass Point reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essent Group currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $63.67.

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.