GTS Securities LLC Takes $236,000 Position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

GTS Securities LLC bought a new stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 4,344 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $236,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,367,101 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $673,265,000 after purchasing an additional 432,034 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Essent Group by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,168,675 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $281,382,000 after buying an additional 200,284 shares in the last quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc boosted its position in Essent Group by 14.9% in 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 buying an additional 350,000 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Essent Group by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 2,370,484 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $129,049,000 after acquiring an additional 221,950 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP grew its stake in shares of Essent Group by 45.9% during the fourth quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 2,228,925 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $121,343,000 after acquiring an additional 700,730 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on ESNT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Essent Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $60.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Compass Point set a $69.00 target price on Essent Group and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, May 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $63.29.

Essent Group Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of ESNT traded down $0.51 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $57.49. The stock had a trading volume of 553,938 shares, compared to its average volume of 645,667. Essent Group Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $51.61 and a fifty-two week high of $65.34. The company has a market cap of $5.83 billion, a PE ratio of 8.40, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.87. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $56.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.44.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 9th. The financial services provider reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.03. Essent Group had a net margin of 58.69% and a return on equity of 13.35%. The firm had revenue of $317.56 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $311.18 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.70 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.16%.

Insider Activity

In other Essent Group news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.80, for a total value of $179,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 27,165 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,624,467. This trade represents a 9.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 1,777 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.07, for a total value of $106,744.39. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 253,022 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,199,031.54. This trade represents a 0.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 5,001 shares of company stock valued at $299,591. Company insiders own 2.90% of the company's stock.

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.