Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 182,671 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $9,945,000. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC owned approximately 0.17% of Essent Group as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC grew its stake in Essent Group by 154.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 208,927 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $13,431,000 after purchasing an additional 126,899 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 19,387 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in Essent Group by 39.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,207 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 1,198 shares in the last quarter. Interval Partners LP grew its stake in Essent Group by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 221,710 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,070,000 after purchasing an additional 33,698 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Essent Group by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 516,747 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,132,000 after purchasing an additional 27,077 shares in the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Essent Group news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 1,777 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.07, for a total transaction of $106,744.39. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 253,022 shares in the company, valued at $15,199,031.54. This trade represents a 0.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 3,000 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the director now owns 27,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 ninety days, insiders sold 5,001 shares of company stock valued at $299,591. Insiders own 2.90% of the company's stock.
Essent Group Stock Performance
NYSE:ESNT traded up $0.83 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $59.87. 630,962 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 640,660. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.87. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $56.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.28. Essent Group Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $51.61 and a fifty-two week high of $65.34.
Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last released 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 business had revenue of $317.56 million during 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.70 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. Essent Group's payout ratio is currently 18.16%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of research analysts have weighed in on ESNT shares. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $61.71.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Essent Group
Essent Group Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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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