Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Shares Sold by Jane Street Group LLC

Jane Street Group LLC reduced its position in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 53.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 42,703 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 48,429 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC's holdings in Essent Group were worth $2,325,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Essent Group in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 238 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings 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 worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Essent Group in the fourth quarter worth about $63,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,363 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $129,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 27,165 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,624,467. This represents a 9.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 1,777 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 253,022 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,199,031.54. The trade was a 0.70% 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 worth $299,591 in the last quarter. 2.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Essent Group Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of Essent Group stock traded down $0.42 on Monday, reaching $59.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 498,250 shares, compared to its average volume of 640,091. The company has a market capitalization of $6.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.69, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.87. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52-week low of $51.61 and a 52-week high of $65.34. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $56.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $56.25.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last released 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 return on equity of 13.35% and a net margin of 58.69%. The company had revenue of $317.56 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $311.18 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.70 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Essent Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" 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, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, May 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Essent Group presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.71.

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.