Bayforest Capital Ltd Grows Position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Key Points

• Bayforest Capital Ltd significantly increased its position in Essent Group Ltd. by 280.5% during Q1, now holding shares valued at $596,000 after acquiring an additional 7,614 shares.
• Essent Group reported $1.69 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates, and experienced a revenue increase of 6.4% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share, with a current annualized yield of 2.21%, reflecting a payout ratio of 18.16%.

Bayforest Capital Ltd raised its stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 280.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,328 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 7,614 shares during the quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd's holdings in Essent Group were worth $596,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in Essent Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $69,364,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Essent Group by 1,272.6% during the 1st 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 last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Essent Group by 43.2% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,709,029 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $93,040,000 after purchasing an additional 515,171 shares during the last quarter. Walleye Capital LLC raised its holdings in Essent Group by 144.8% during the 4th quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 846,169 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $46,065,000 after purchasing an additional 500,494 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Essent Group by 29.3% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,966,171 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $107,038,000 after purchasing an additional 445,012 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.00% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 1,999 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $119,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 251,023 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,061,380. The trade was a 0.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 27,165 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,624,467. The trade was a 9.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,740 shares of company stock worth $581,386 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.90% of the company's stock.

Essent Group Stock Up 0.9%

Essent Group stock traded up $0.53 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $56.52. The stock had a trading volume of 669,061 shares, compared to its average volume of 781,265. Essent Group Ltd. has a 12 month low of $51.61 and a 12 month high of $65.33. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $58.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $57.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.73 billion, a PE ratio of 8.28, a P/E/G ratio of 8.25 and a beta of 0.82.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 9th. The financial services provider reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.03. Essent Group had a return on equity of 12.98% and a net margin of 57.29%. The firm 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 posted $1.70 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ESNT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Essent Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $60.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Essent Group from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, May 9th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Compass Point set a $69.00 price objective on shares of Essent Group and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $63.71.

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.