Element Capital Management LLC Invests $2.71 Million in Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT

Key Points

• Element Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Essent Group Ltd. by purchasing 46,982 shares valued at approximately $2.7 million during the 1st quarter.
• Essent Group recently reported an EPS of $1.93 for the quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate of $1.68, along with a revenue of $319.14 million.
• In addition to its financial performance, Essent Group declared a quarterly dividend of $0.31, with a yield of 2.0%, set to be paid on September 10th to investors of record.

Element Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 46,982 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,712,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Essent Group by 4.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,399,228 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $311,638,000 after purchasing an additional 230,553 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in Essent Group by 40.8% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 8,240 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $476,000 after purchasing an additional 2,386 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Essent Group during the first quarter worth approximately $34,060,000. Entropy Technologies LP increased its position in Essent Group by 326.1% during the first quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 34,984 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,019,000 after purchasing an additional 26,774 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its position in Essent Group by 32.9% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,717 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 425 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 3,760 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.00, for a total transaction of $233,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 247,023 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,315,426. This trade represents a 1.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director William Spiegel sold 6,451 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.74, for a total transaction of $404,735.74. Following the sale, the director directly owned 26,252 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,647,050.48. The trade was a 19.73% decrease in their position. 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 quarter. Company insiders own 2.90% of the company's stock.

Essent Group Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of ESNT traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $62.33. 417,622 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 721,403. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1-year low of $51.61 and a 1-year high of $65.33. The company has a market cap of $6.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $58.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $57.54.

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

Essent Group Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ESNT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $60.00 price target on shares of Essent Group and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut Essent Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $60.00 target price on Essent Group in a report on Friday, August 8th. Compass Point reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, May 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus 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.