Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Shares Purchased by Cwm LLC

CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 1,036.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,613 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 6,943 shares during the quarter. CWM LLC's holdings in Essent Group were worth $439,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ESNT. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $332,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,157 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position 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 buying an additional 778 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Essent Group by 215.1% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 86,087 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,687,000 after buying an additional 58,768 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Interval Partners LP raised its position in shares of Essent Group by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 221,710 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,070,000 after buying an additional 33,698 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on ESNT. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Barclays upped their target price 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. Compass Point set a $69.00 target price on shares of Essent Group and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Essent Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $60.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $63.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essent Group

In other Essent Group news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.79, for a total value of $146,975.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 1,999 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $119,940.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 251,023 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,061,380. This trade represents a 0.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,740 shares of company stock worth $581,386 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.90% of the company's stock.

Essent Group Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE ESNT traded up $0.30 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $56.70. 534,536 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 760,551. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $58.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.28. Essent Group Ltd. has a one year low of $51.61 and a one year high of $65.33. The company has a market cap of $5.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.30, a P/E/G ratio of 8.24 and a beta of 0.81.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. The company had revenue of $317.56 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $311.18 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 57.29% and a return on equity of 12.98%. Essent Group's revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.70 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th were paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.16%.

Essent Group 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.