Nomura Holdings Inc. Invests $766,000 in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 14,067 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $766,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 68.8% in the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 584 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 53.3% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,125 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group in the fourth quarter worth $63,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,363 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $129,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ESNT. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, May 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Essent Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $60.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Essent Group currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Essent Group news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.80, for a total value of $179,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 27,165 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,624,467. The trade was a 9.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 1,777 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.07, for a total transaction of $106,744.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 253,022 shares in the company, valued at $15,199,031.54. This represents a 0.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 5,001 shares of company stock valued at $299,591. Insiders own 2.90% of the company's stock.

Essent Group Trading Down 0.7%

Essent Group stock opened at $59.41 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.02 billion, a PE ratio of 8.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.87. Essent Group Ltd. has a 12-month low of $51.61 and a 12-month high of $65.34. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $56.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $56.29.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 9th. The financial services provider reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $1.70 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. Essent Group's payout ratio is 18.16%.

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.

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