Guggenheim Capital LLC Raises Position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Guggenheim Capital LLC lifted its stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 162.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,802 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 12,884 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $833,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its position in shares of Essent Group by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 366,573 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,252,000 after buying an additional 24,993 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its position in shares of Essent Group by 1.6% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 790,904 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000,000 after buying an additional 12,190 shares during the period. Albion Financial Group UT boosted its position in shares of Essent Group by 7.5% in the first quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 3,822 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $153,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Essent Group by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 265,519 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,323,000 after buying an additional 8,104 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 13.8% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 10,187 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $408,000 after acquiring an additional 1,235 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Essent Group

In other news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.88, for a total transaction of $103,760.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,648 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,434,378.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.88, for a total value of $103,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,434,378.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.80, for a total value of $747,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 261,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,013,935.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 25,844 shares of company stock worth $1,294,776. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on ESNT. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Essent Group from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 8th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Essent Group from $51.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 7th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Essent Group from $50.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Sunday, August 6th. BTIG Research boosted their price target on Essent Group from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Essent Group from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Essent Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.29.

Essent Group Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE ESNT opened at $50.76 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $49.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.95. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52-week low of $34.27 and a 52-week high of $53.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.15, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.13.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $260.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $262.07 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 14.74% and a net margin of 66.31%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.16 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.38 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 1st will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 31st. Essent Group’s payout ratio is 16.05%.

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.