Bayforest Capital Ltd Acquires 7,614 Shares of Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT

Key Points

• Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its holdings in Essent Group Ltd. by 280.5% during the first quarter, owning 10,328 shares valued at $596,000 after acquiring 7,614 additional shares.
• Insider trading activity included CFO David B. Weinstock selling 2,500 shares and Director William Spiegel selling 6,451 shares, representing ownership decreases of 8.37% and 19.73%, respectively.
• The company's stock recently experienced a price target increase from various analysts, with a consensus average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target of $63.67.

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

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ESNT. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 6,988 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $380,000 after buying an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 19.5% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 44,037 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,397,000 after buying an additional 7,201 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Essent Group by 64.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 282,895 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Essent Group by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,677 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $200,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in shares of Essent Group by 15.5% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 331,197 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $18,030,000 after purchasing an additional 44,407 shares during the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Essent Group

In other news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 3,760 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.00, for a total transaction of $233,120.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 247,023 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,315,426. The trade was a 1.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director William Spiegel sold 6,451 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.74, for a total value of $404,735.74. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 26,252 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,647,050.48. The trade was a 19.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,450 shares of company stock valued at $772,676. Corporate insiders own 3.40% of the company's stock.

Essent Group Stock Performance

NYSE ESNT traded down $0.19 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $63.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 140,103 shares, compared to its average volume of 722,192. Essent Group Ltd. has a 12 month low of $51.61 and a 12 month high of $65.33. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $59.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.26. The company has a market cap of $6.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.85. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.25. Essent Group had a return on equity of 12.66% and a net margin of 56.36%.The company had revenue of $319.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $317.46 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.91 EPS. Essent Group's revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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 was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 29th. Essent Group's payout ratio is currently 18.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on ESNT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of Essent Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Compass Point reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $60.00 price objective on Essent Group and gave the company a "neutral" rating 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $63.67.

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.