Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Shares Acquired by Deutsche Bank AG

Key Points

• Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in Essent Group Ltd. by 5.6% during the first quarter, owning approximately 0.34% of the company valued at $20.2 million.
• Essent Group announced a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share, with an annualized yield of 2.0%, to be paid to stockholders on September 10th.
• Analysts forecast an average target price of $63.67 for Essent Group, with four buy ratings and four hold ratings currently assigned to its stock.

Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 5.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 349,677 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 18,480 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG owned 0.34% of Essent Group worth $20,183,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake 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 valued at $56,044,000 after acquiring an additional 900,229 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake 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 valued at $93,040,000 after acquiring an additional 515,171 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake 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 valued at $107,038,000 after acquiring an additional 445,012 shares in the last quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc grew its stake in Essent Group by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 2,700,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $146,988,000 after acquiring an additional 350,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Essent Group by 64.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 721,457 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $39,276,000 after acquiring an additional 282,895 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ESNT. Compass Point reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, August 8th. DOWLING & PARTN cut shares of Essent Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of Essent Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $60.00 price target on shares of Essent Group and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $63.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $1,608,788.35. The trade was a 8.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 3,760 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. This trade represents a 1.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 14,950 shares of company stock worth $919,651. Insiders own 2.90% of the company's stock.

Essent Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESNT traded down $0.98 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $61.84. The stock had a trading volume of 561,815 shares, compared to its average volume of 769,820. The company has a market capitalization of $6.09 billion, a PE ratio of 9.03, a P/E/G ratio of 8.76 and a beta of 0.82. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $58.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $57.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1 year low of $51.61 and a 1 year high of $65.33.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $317.46 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.91 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

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

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.