Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT Shares Purchased by Jane Street Group LLC

Key Points

• Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in Essent Group Ltd. by 760.5%, owning 367,460 shares valued at approximately $21.21 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Essent Group reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.93 for the last quarter, surpassing analyst estimates of $1.68, with a revenue of $319.14 million.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 1.9%.

Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 760.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 367,460 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 324,757 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC owned 0.36% of Essent Group worth $21,210,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bayforest Capital Ltd grew its position in shares of Essent Group by 280.5% in the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 10,328 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $596,000 after purchasing an additional 7,614 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the first quarter valued at $403,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of Essent Group by 670.5% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 663,332 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $38,288,000 after purchasing an additional 577,245 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of Essent Group by 74.2% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 103,512 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,975,000 after purchasing an additional 44,088 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the first quarter valued at $1,169,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ESNT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded Essent Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $60.00 price objective on Essent Group and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. DOWLING & PARTN downgraded Essent Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $60.00 price objective on Essent Group in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, August 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $63.67.

Essent Group Trading Up 2.5%

ESNT stock traded up $1.59 during trading on Thursday, reaching $65.14. 266,303 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 720,775. The business's 50 day moving average price is $60.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.36. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52-week low of $51.61 and a 52-week high of $65.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.42 billion, a PE ratio of 9.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.86.

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

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 29th. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.10%.

Insider Activity at Essent Group

In related news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.33, for a total transaction of $158,325.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 24,865 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,574,700.45. The trade was a 9.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director William Spiegel sold 6,451 shares of the business'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 value of $404,735.74. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 26,252 shares in the company, valued at $1,647,050.48. This trade represents a 19.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 14,950 shares of company stock worth $931,001. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.