Interval Partners LP Buys 33,698 Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Interval Partners LP grew its position in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 17.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 221,710 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 33,698 shares during the quarter. Interval Partners LP owned about 0.21% of Essent Group worth $12,070,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Essent Group by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,367,101 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $673,265,000 after acquiring an additional 432,034 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,168,675 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $281,382,000 after purchasing an additional 200,284 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of Essent Group by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 2,370,484 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $129,049,000 after buying an additional 221,950 shares during the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP grew its holdings in Essent Group by 45.9% during the fourth quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 2,228,925 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $121,343,000 after buying an additional 700,730 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Essent Group by 29.3% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,966,171 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $107,038,000 after buying an additional 445,012 shares in the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ESNT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" 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 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" 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 issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.71.

Insider Activity at Essent Group

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

Essent Group Stock Performance

ESNT traded up $0.83 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $59.87. The company had a trading volume of 630,962 shares, compared to its average volume of 638,254. Essent Group Ltd. has a 12-month low of $51.61 and a 12-month high of $65.34. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $56.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $56.32. The stock has a market cap of $6.22 billion, a PE ratio of 8.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.87.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 9th. The financial services provider reported $1.69 EPS 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 analysts' expectations of $311.18 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.70 EPS. Essent Group's revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.16%.

Essent Group Company 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.