GAMMA Investing LLC Increases Stock Position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 9,493.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 112,727 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 111,552 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC owned about 0.11% of Essent Group worth $6,507,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 68.8% in the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 53.3% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,125 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming raised its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 102.0% in the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,687 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 852 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Essent Group news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 1,777 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.07, for a total transaction 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 $15,199,031.54. The trade was a 0.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 3,000 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.80, for a total transaction of $179,400.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 27,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,624,467. The trade was a 9.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,001 shares of company stock worth $299,591. 2.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on ESNT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Essent Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Compass Point set a $69.00 price objective on shares of Essent Group and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued 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 $63.29.

Essent Group Stock Down 0.4%

ESNT opened at $57.59 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.42, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.81. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $56.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $56.51. Essent Group Ltd. has a twelve month low of $51.61 and a twelve month high of $65.34.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last posted its 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. The firm had revenue of $317.56 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $311.18 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 58.69% and a return on equity of 13.35%. The company’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.70 earnings per share. On average, sell-side 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 disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.