MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. Purchases 2,301 Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 59,424 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,301 shares during the quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. owned approximately 0.06% of Essent Group worth $3,235,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the 4th quarter valued at $9,945,000. Interval Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 221,710 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,070,000 after purchasing an additional 33,698 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 3,002.0% in the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 106,801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,814,000 after purchasing an additional 103,358 shares during the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 1,679.2% in the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 149,078 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,116,000 after purchasing an additional 140,699 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 15.5% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 331,197 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,030,000 after purchasing an additional 44,407 shares during the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Essent Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Essent Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.71.

Essent Group Stock Performance

ESNT opened at $59.41 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $6.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.69, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $56.48 and a 200 day moving average of $56.29. Essent Group Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $51.61 and a fifty-two week high of $65.34.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 9th. The financial services provider reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $317.56 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $311.18 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 58.69% and a return on equity of 13.35%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.70 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. Essent Group’s payout ratio is 18.16%.

Insider Transactions at Essent Group

In other news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 1,777 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.07, for a total value of $106,744.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 253,022 shares in the company, valued at $15,199,031.54. This trade represents a 0.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 3,000 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.80, for a total transaction of $179,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 27,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,624,467. The trade was a 9.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,001 shares of company stock worth $299,591 over the last quarter. Corporate 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.