Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Sells 79,823 Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. significantly reduced its holdings in Essent Group Ltd. by 74.7% during the first quarter, owning just 26,978 shares after selling 79,823 shares.
• Essent Group recently reported quarterly earnings of $1.69 earnings per share (EPS), surpassing the consensus estimate of $1.66, along with a net margin of 57.29% and $317.56 million in revenue.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.31, yielding 2.2%, which underscores its commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 74.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,978 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 79,823 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Essent Group were worth $1,557,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in Essent Group in the first quarter worth about $993,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd boosted 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 acquiring an additional 7,614 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group in the first quarter valued at $332,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Essent Group by 16.6% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 66.2% during 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 last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.79, for a total transaction of $146,975.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 27,365 shares in the company, valued at $1,608,788.35. The trade was a 8.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 3,000 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were 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 approximately $1,624,467. The trade was a 9.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,740 shares of company stock valued at $581,386. Insiders own 2.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Barclays boosted their price target on Essent Group from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded Essent Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $65.00 to $67.00 in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essent Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $63.67.

Essent Group Stock Down 1.6%

ESNT stock traded down $0.91 during trading on Thursday, hitting $56.94. The company had a trading volume of 614,468 shares, compared to its average volume of 751,504. The firm has a market cap of $5.77 billion, a PE ratio of 8.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.41 and a beta of 0.82. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1-year low of $51.61 and a 1-year high of $65.33. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $58.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $57.32.

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. The business had revenue of $317.56 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $311.18 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 12.98% and a net margin of 57.29%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.70 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. Essent Group's payout ratio is 18.16%.

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.