Point72 DIFC Ltd Takes $421,000 Position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 6,543 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $421,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ESNT. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Essent Group by 10.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,680,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $262,973,000 after acquiring an additional 445,853 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Essent Group by 132.4% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 424,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,294,000 after purchasing an additional 241,840 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Essent Group by 68.8% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 436,009 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,499,000 after purchasing an additional 177,700 shares in the last quarter. Walleye Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Essent Group by 45.5% during the 3rd quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 345,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $22,223,000 after purchasing an additional 108,061 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in Essent Group in the second quarter valued at about $4,748,000. Institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ESNT shares. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Essent Group from $68.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays decreased their target price on Essent Group from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.00.

Essent Group Stock Down 0.5 %

ESNT stock opened at $56.14 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $59.36 and a 200-day moving average of $59.52. The company has a market cap of $5.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.14, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.09. Essent Group Ltd. has a twelve month low of $48.08 and a twelve month high of $65.33.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $316.80 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 60.15% and a return on equity of 13.81%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 969.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.66 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. Essent Group’s payout ratio is presently 16.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essent Group

In other news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 25,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,616,203.44. The trade was a 7.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate 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.