Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest in Essent Group Ltd. rose by 42.5% in August, totaling 2,180,000 shares, representing 2.3% of its shares sold short, with a short-interest ratio of 3.2 days.
• The company reported earnings of $1.93 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, and had a revenue of $319.14 million.
• Essent Group declared a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share, yielding an annualized dividend of $1.24, which equates to a 2.0% yield.

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 2,180,000 shares, an increase of 42.5% from the August 15th total of 1,530,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 682,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.2 days. Approximately 2.3% of the shares of the company are short sold. Approximately 2.3% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 682,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.2 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on ESNT. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $60.00 price objective on Essent Group and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Essent Group from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Compass Point reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered Essent Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essent Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $63.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Essent Group news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,500 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.33, for a total transaction of $158,325.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 24,865 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,574,700.45. The trade was a 9.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 3,760 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.00, for a total value of $233,120.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 247,023 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,315,426. This represents a 1.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 14,950 shares of company stock valued at $931,001. 2.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essent Group

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 20.2% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,114 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 39,301 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,268,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Essent Group by 5.7% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,721 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $215,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Essent Group by 1.2% in the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 21,801 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,324,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Essent Group by 12.5% in the second quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,552 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $155,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essent Group Price Performance

ESNT stock traded up $1.94 during trading on Thursday, hitting $65.49. The stock had a trading volume of 1,077,711 shares, compared to its average volume of 725,898. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. Essent Group has a twelve month low of $51.61 and a twelve month high of $65.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.56, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.86. The company's 50-day moving average price is $60.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.36.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.25. Essent Group had a return on equity of 12.66% and a net margin of 56.36%.The company had revenue of $319.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $317.46 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.91 EPS. Essent Group's revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Essent Group will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th were issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 29th. Essent Group's payout ratio is presently 18.10%.

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.