Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT Holdings Lifted by Millennium Management LLC

Key Points

• Millennium Management LLC significantly increased its stake in Essent Group Ltd. by 670.5%, acquiring 577,245 shares in the first quarter.
• Essent Group reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.93 for the most recent quarter, exceeding analyst expectations of $1.68.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share, with a dividend yield of 2.0% scheduled for payment on September 10th.

Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 670.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 663,332 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 577,245 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC owned approximately 0.64% of Essent Group worth $38,288,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 4.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,399,228 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $311,638,000 after purchasing an additional 230,553 shares during the last quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc grew its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 2,700,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $146,988,000 after purchasing an additional 350,000 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 1,272.6% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 970,969 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $56,044,000 after purchasing an additional 900,229 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 64.2% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 848,282 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $48,581,000 after purchasing an additional 331,535 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 64.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 721,457 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,276,000 after purchasing an additional 282,895 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company's stock.

Essent Group Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE ESNT traded down $0.02 during trading on Monday, hitting $63.80. 65,395 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 721,858. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1 year low of $51.61 and a 1 year high of $65.33. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $59.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $58.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

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

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 29th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Essent Group's payout ratio is presently 18.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essent Group

In related news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 3,760 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.00, for a total transaction of $233,120.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 247,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,315,426. The trade was a 1.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director William Spiegel sold 6,451 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.74, for a total transaction of $404,735.74. Following the transaction, the director owned 26,252 shares in the company, valued at $1,647,050.48. The trade was a 19.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,450 shares of company stock worth $772,676 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ESNT has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, August 8th. DOWLING & PARTN lowered Essent Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Barclays raised their price objective on 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 lowered Essent Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Compass Point reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, August 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $63.67.

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.