Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Shares Bought by Walleye Capital LLC

Walleye Capital LLC increased its position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 45.5% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 345,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 108,061 shares during the quarter. Walleye Capital LLC’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $22,223,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Martingale Asset Management L P lifted its stake in Essent Group by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 94,149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,053,000 after buying an additional 458 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 132.4% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 424,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,294,000 after purchasing an additional 241,840 shares during the period. Centaurus Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group during the 3rd quarter worth $130,000. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group during the 3rd quarter worth $2,209,000. Finally, Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 81.9% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 100,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,445,000 after purchasing an additional 45,126 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ESNT. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Essent Group from $68.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Essent Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $65.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Barclays cut their target price on Essent Group from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.00.

Essent Group Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE ESNT opened at $57.74 on Friday. Essent Group Ltd. has a 12-month low of $47.56 and a 12-month high of $65.33. The company has a market cap of $6.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $60.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.50.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $316.80 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 60.15% and a return on equity of 13.81%. The firm’s revenue was up 969.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.66 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Essent Group news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.59, for a total value of $127,180.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 25,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,616,203.44. This trade represents a 7.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group 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.