MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 74.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 103,512 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 44,088 shares during the quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. owned approximately 0.10% of Essent Group worth $5,975,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in Essent Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $993,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd boosted its stake in Essent Group by 280.5% during the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 10,328 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $596,000 after buying an additional 7,614 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Essent Group during the first quarter worth $332,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted 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 buying an additional 1,157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted 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 valued at $113,000 after acquiring an additional 778 shares during the period. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Essent Group news, Director William Spiegel sold 6,451 shares of the company'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 transaction of $404,735.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 26,252 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,647,050.48. This represents a 19.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 3,760 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.00, for a total value of $233,120.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 247,023 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,315,426. This trade represents a 1.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,950 shares of company stock valued at $919,651 in the last quarter. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Essent Group Stock Down 0.8%
Shares of ESNT traded down $0.52 on Friday, hitting $63.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 444,215 shares, compared to its average volume of 460,227. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $59.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.25. Essent Group Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $51.61 and a fifty-two week high of $65.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.86.
Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 12.66% and a net margin of 56.36%.The business had revenue of $319.14 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $317.46 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.91 EPS. Essent Group's quarterly revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.
Essent Group Dividend Announcement
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio is 18.10%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of research firms recently issued reports on ESNT. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut Essent Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Compass Point restated a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $60.00 target price on Essent Group in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, DOWLING & PARTN lowered Essent Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essent Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $63.67.
Check Out Our Latest Report on ESNT
Essent Group Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
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