Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP Acquires New Position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP purchased a new stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,297 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $234,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ESNT. NFC Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Essent Group by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. NFC Investments LLC now owns 56,688 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,086,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Essent Group by 8.2% in the 4th 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 period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its stake in shares of Essent Group by 68.8% in the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 584 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 6,988 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $380,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 47,469 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,584,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the period. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ESNT shares. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Essent Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $60.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" 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 given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $61.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Essent Group news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 3,000 shares of the 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 directly owns 27,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,624,467. This trade represents a 9.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 1,777 shares of the business's 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, 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

Shares of NYSE ESNT traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $57.61. 101,972 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 640,004. Essent Group Ltd. has a twelve month low of $51.61 and a twelve month high of $65.34. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $56.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.32. The company has a market cap of $5.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.42, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.87.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last released 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 return on equity of 13.35% and a net margin of 58.69%. The business had revenue of $317.56 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $311.18 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.70 EPS. Essent Group's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Essent Group's 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.