MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. Boosts Stock Position in Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT

Key Points

• MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in Essent Group Ltd. by 74.2%, acquiring an additional 44,088 shares, bringing its total to 103,512 shares valued at approximately $5.98 million.
• Essent Group reported $1.93 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analyst estimates of $1.68, with revenue reaching $319.14 million, reflecting a 2.0% year-over-year increase.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.31, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 2.0%, with a payout ratio of 18.10%.

MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 74.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 103,512 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 44,088 shares during the period. 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.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its stake in Essent Group by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 6,988 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $380,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Essent Group by 19.5% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 44,037 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,397,000 after buying an additional 7,201 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Essent Group by 64.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 721,457 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $39,276,000 after acquiring an additional 282,895 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Essent Group by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,677 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $200,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 15.5% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 331,197 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $18,030,000 after acquiring an additional 44,407 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company's stock.

Essent Group Price Performance

NYSE ESNT traded down $0.85 on Tuesday, hitting $62.49. The stock had a trading volume of 624,710 shares, compared to its average volume of 453,897. The company has a market capitalization of $6.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.86. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52-week low of $51.61 and a 52-week high of $65.33. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $60.06 and a 200-day moving average of $58.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $319.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $317.46 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.91 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th were paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.10%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 3,760 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.00, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 transaction of $404,735.74. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 26,252 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,647,050.48. The trade was a 19.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,450 shares of company stock worth $772,676 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ESNT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered Essent Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Compass Point reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Essent Group and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Barclays upped their target price on Essent Group from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, August 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Essent Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $63.67.

Essent Group 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.