Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC Makes New $4.75 Million Investment in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 84,507 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,748,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC owned about 0.08% of Essent Group as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ESNT. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Essent Group by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,680,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $262,973,000 after buying an additional 445,853 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Essent Group by 3.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,917,819 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $709,229,000 after acquiring an additional 440,385 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in Essent Group by 94.1% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 739,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,019,000 after purchasing an additional 358,621 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Essent Group by 68.8% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 436,009 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,499,000 after purchasing an additional 177,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Essent Group by 31.2% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 650,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,295,000 after purchasing an additional 154,591 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on ESNT shares. BTIG Research increased their price objective on Essent Group from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Essent Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $65.00 to $70.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. Barclays lifted their price target on Essent Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Essent Group from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Three 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $64.33.

Insider Activity at Essent Group

In other Essent Group news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of Essent Group 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 25,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,616,203.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.59, for a total value of $127,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 25,416 shares in the company, valued at $1,616,203.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Vijay Bhasin sold 11,188 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.14, for a total value of $672,846.32. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 199,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,989,450.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 18,188 shares of company stock worth $1,094,076. Corporate insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Stock Up 0.8 %

Essent Group stock opened at $63.87 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $62.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.29. The stock has a market cap of $6.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.12. Essent Group Ltd. has a twelve month low of $45.63 and a twelve month high of $65.33.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.23. Essent Group had a return on equity of 14.40% and a net margin of 61.31%. The business had revenue of $272.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $308.33 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.61 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. Essent Group’s payout ratio is presently 16.94%.

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.