Sivia Capital Partners LLC Makes New $346,000 Investment in Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT

Key Points

• Sivia Capital Partners LLC has acquired 5,696 shares of Essent Group Ltd., valued at approximately $346,000, during the 2nd quarter as reported in a Form 13F filing with the SEC.
• Essent Group recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 1.9%, which was paid on September 10th.
• Analysts currently have a Moderate Buy rating on Essent Group, with an average target price of $63.67, following a recent earnings report that exceeded expectations.

Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 5,696 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $346,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Essent Group by 1,272.6% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 970,969 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $56,044,000 after purchasing an additional 900,229 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in Essent Group in the 1st quarter worth about $41,084,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Essent Group in the 1st quarter worth about $34,060,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Essent Group by 670.5% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 663,332 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $38,288,000 after buying an additional 577,245 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Essent Group by 64.2% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 848,282 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $48,581,000 after buying an additional 331,535 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company's stock.

Essent Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESNT traded down $0.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $65.24. 2,326,089 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 518,377. The company's 50 day moving average price is $60.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.50. The firm has a market cap of $6.43 billion, a PE ratio of 9.52, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52 week low of $51.61 and a 52 week high of $65.90.

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

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th were paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 (DPR) is 18.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essent Group

In other Essent Group news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 3,760 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.00, for a total value of $233,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 247,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,315,426. This trade represents a 1.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director William Spiegel sold 6,451 shares of the company's 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 26,252 shares in the company, 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,950 shares of company stock worth $931,001. 2.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $60.00 price target on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, August 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of Essent Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $60.00 target price on shares of Essent Group and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Essent Group from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.