Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Buys 4,716 Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its position in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 13.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,105 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 4,716 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC's holdings in Essent Group were worth $2,373,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Essent Group by 215.1% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 86,087 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,687,000 after purchasing an additional 58,768 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,570,532 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $85,500,000 after buying an additional 19,387 shares in the last quarter. Interval Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 221,710 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,070,000 after acquiring an additional 33,698 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 516,747 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,132,000 after acquiring an additional 27,077 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 30.9% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 112,394 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,119,000 after acquiring an additional 26,537 shares during the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on ESNT. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, May 9th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, May 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Essent Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $60.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Compass Point set a $69.00 price target on shares of Essent Group and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $63.29.

Essent Group Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE:ESNT traded up $0.45 on Thursday, hitting $58.97. 218,349 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 742,000. The company has a market cap of $5.98 billion, a PE ratio of 8.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.81. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1 year low of $51.61 and a 1 year high of $65.33. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $56.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $56.53.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 9th. The financial services provider reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $317.56 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $311.18 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.70 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Essent Group

In related news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 1,777 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.07, for a total value of $106,744.39. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 253,022 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,199,031.54. The trade was a 0.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.80, for a total transaction of $179,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 27,165 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,624,467. This represents a 9.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,001 shares of company stock valued at $299,591. Insiders own 2.90% of the company's stock.

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.