GSA Capital Partners LLP Acquires Shares of 17,203 Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Key Points

• GSA Capital Partners LLP made a substantial investment of $993,000 in Essent Group Ltd., acquiring 17,203 shares in the first quarter.
• Essent Group recently reported strong earnings, with earnings per share of $1.69, exceeding analysts' expectations by $0.03, and a revenue increase of 6.4% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.31, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 2.2% and a payout ratio of 18.16%.

GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 17,203 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $993,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Essent Group in the first quarter worth $332,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in 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 worth $468,000 after acquiring an additional 1,157 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Essent Group by 66.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,953 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 778 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Essent Group by 215.1% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 86,087 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,687,000 after purchasing an additional 58,768 shares during the period. Finally, Interval Partners LP raised its stake in shares of Essent Group by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 221,710 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $12,070,000 after purchasing an additional 33,698 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.00% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.80, for a total transaction of $179,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 27,165 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,624,467. This trade represents a 9.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,500 shares of Essent Group 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 27,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,608,788.35. This trade represents a 8.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,740 shares of company stock valued at $581,386 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ESNT shares. Compass Point set a $69.00 target price on shares of Essent Group and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded Essent Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $65.00 to $67.00 in a report on Monday, July 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Three research 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 an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $63.71.

Essent Group Price Performance

NYSE ESNT traded up $0.53 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $56.52. The company had a trading volume of 669,061 shares, compared to its average volume of 781,265. The firm's 50 day moving average is $58.20 and its 200 day moving average is $57.32. Essent Group Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $51.61 and a fifty-two week high of $65.33. The company has a market capitalization of $5.73 billion, a price-to-earnings 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 posted its earnings results on Friday, May 9th. The financial services provider reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $317.56 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.70 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

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

About Essent Group

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.