ProShare Advisors LLC Raises Stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 41.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 34,361 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 10,009 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC's holdings in Essent Group were worth $1,871,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Essent Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its stake in 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 position in Essent Group by 53.3% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,125 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Essent Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in 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 valued at $129,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 1,777 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.07, for a total value of $106,744.39. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,624,467. This represents a 9.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 ninety days. Company insiders own 2.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ESNT has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Essent Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $60.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Essent Group presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.71.

Essent Group Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of Essent Group stock opened at $59.07 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $5.99 billion, a PE ratio of 8.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.87. The business has a 50 day moving average of $56.58 and a 200 day moving average of $56.31. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52 week low of $51.61 and a 52 week high of $65.34.

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

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. Essent Group's payout ratio is 18.16%.

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.

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