Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Shares Bought by Polar Capital Holdings Plc

Polar Capital Holdings Plc grew its position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 14.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,700,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 350,000 shares during the period. Polar Capital Holdings Plc owned about 2.54% of Essent Group worth $146,988,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Essent Group by 154.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 208,927 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $13,431,000 after buying an additional 126,899 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Essent Group by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 47,182 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,993,000 after buying an additional 1,309 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its stake in Essent Group by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 36,389 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,981,000 after buying an additional 3,637 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC increased its stake in Essent Group by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 7,356 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $400,000 after buying an additional 938 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its stake in Essent Group by 39.8% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,207 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $229,000 after buying an additional 1,198 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Essent Group

In other Essent Group news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 3,000 shares of the firm's 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 of the company's stock, 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 firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,001 shares of company stock valued at $299,591. 2.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Essent Group Price Performance

Shares of ESNT traded up $0.06 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $59.52. 141,747 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 638,152. The business's 50-day moving average price is $56.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.29. Essent Group Ltd. has a twelve month low of $51.61 and a twelve month high of $65.34. The company has a market capitalization of $6.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.70, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.87.

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

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

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 $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.