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

Walleye Capital LLC grew its position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 45.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 345,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 108,061 shares during the quarter. Walleye Capital LLC owned about 0.33% of Essent Group worth $22,223,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Essent Group during the first quarter worth approximately $220,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Essent Group during the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Essent Group by 38.7% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 177,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,542,000 after buying an additional 49,393 shares in the last quarter. Walleye Trading LLC lifted its position in Essent Group by 10.7% during the first quarter. Walleye Trading LLC now owns 5,784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $344,000 after buying an additional 558 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Essent Group by 49.7% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,187 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ESNT opened at $57.74 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.12. The business has a 50-day moving average of $60.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.50. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1 year low of $47.56 and a 1 year high of $65.33.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last posted 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). Essent Group had a net margin of 60.15% and a return on equity of 13.81%. The firm had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $316.80 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.66 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 969.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Essent Group’s payout ratio is currently 16.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Activity

In other Essent Group news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.59, for a total transaction of $127,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 25,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,616,203.44. This represents a 7.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

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.