AQR Capital Management LLC Raises Position in Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Essent Group Ltd. by 64.2% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 331,535 shares, which brought their total ownership to 848,282 shares.
• Several hedge funds adjusted their stakes in Essent Group, with notable increases from Victory Capital Management and Dimensional Fund Advisors, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.
• Essent Group reported quarterly earnings of $1.93 EPS, surpassing estimates, and announced a $0.31 quarterly dividend, representing a yield of 1.9% for shareholders of record by August 29th.

AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 64.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 848,282 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 331,535 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.82% of Essent Group worth $48,581,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Essent Group by 4.5% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,399,228 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $311,638,000 after purchasing an additional 230,553 shares in the last quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc lifted its holdings in Essent Group by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 2,700,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $146,988,000 after buying an additional 350,000 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Essent Group by 1,272.6% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 970,969 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $56,044,000 after purchasing an additional 900,229 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Essent Group by 64.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 721,457 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,276,000 after acquiring an additional 282,895 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in Essent Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $41,084,000. Institutional investors own 93.00% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director William Spiegel sold 6,451 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.74, for a total transaction of $404,735.74. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 26,252 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,647,050.48. This trade represents a 19.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,608,788.35. This trade represents a 8.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,950 shares of company stock valued at $919,651 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $60.00 price objective on Essent Group in a research report on Friday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Essent Group and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Compass Point reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, August 8th. Barclays boosted 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. Finally, DOWLING & PARTN lowered Essent Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $63.67.

Essent Group Trading Down 0.8%

ESNT traded down $0.52 on Friday, hitting $63.75. The company had a trading volume of 444,215 shares, compared to its average volume of 460,227. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $59.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Essent Group Ltd. has a 12-month low of $51.61 and a 12-month high of $65.33. The company has a market cap of $6.28 billion, a PE ratio of 9.31, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.86.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $319.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $317.46 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 12.66% and a net margin of 56.36%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.91 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th were paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.10%.

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.