Millennium Management LLC Grows Holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 215.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 86,087 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 58,768 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Essent Group worth $4,687,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Essent Group by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,367,101 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $673,265,000 after purchasing an additional 432,034 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Essent Group by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,168,675 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $281,382,000 after purchasing an additional 200,284 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in 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 worth $129,049,000 after purchasing an additional 221,950 shares during the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP boosted its holdings in 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 worth $121,343,000 after purchasing an additional 700,730 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Essent Group by 29.3% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,966,171 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $107,038,000 after purchasing an additional 445,012 shares during the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on ESNT shares. Compass Point set a $69.00 price objective on shares of Essent Group and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Essent Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $63.29.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 27,165 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,624,467. The trade was a 9.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 1,777 shares of the business'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 transaction of $106,744.39. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 253,022 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,199,031.54. This represents a 0.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,001 shares of company stock valued at $299,591 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.90% of the company's stock.

Essent Group Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE ESNT traded down $0.51 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $57.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 553,938 shares, compared to its average volume of 645,667. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $56.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.46. Essent Group Ltd. has a one year low of $51.61 and a one year high of $65.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.87.

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

Essent Group Announces Dividend

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 given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.