Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd Invests $324,000 in Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT

by · The Cerbat Gem

Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT – Free Report) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 5,330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $324,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Essent Group by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,399,228 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $311,638,000 after purchasing an additional 230,553 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Essent Group by 3.1% during the second quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 941,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $57,168,000 after buying an additional 28,261 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of Essent Group by 1.0% during the second quarter. Boston Partners now owns 922,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,463,000 after buying an additional 9,509 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Essent Group by 64.2% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 848,282 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,581,000 after acquiring an additional 331,535 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in Essent Group in the first quarter worth approximately $41,084,000. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Essent Group

In other news, SVP Vijay Bhasin sold 11,479 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $746,135.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 196,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,799,930. This represents a 5.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.33, for a total transaction of $158,325.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 24,865 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,574,700.45. The trade was a 9.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 17,979 shares of company stock worth $1,164,460. 3.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Essent Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ESNT opened at $62.98 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.68. The company has a market cap of $6.09 billion, a PE ratio of 9.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.15 and a beta of 0.91. Essent Group Ltd. has a 12 month low of $51.61 and a 12 month high of $65.90.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $311.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $316.84 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 12.40% and a net margin of 55.63%.The firm’s revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.65 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be given a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Essent Group’s payout ratio is currently 18.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ESNT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. DOWLING & PARTN lowered Essent Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut Essent Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $60.00 price objective on Essent Group and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, August 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Essent Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.67.

View Our Latest Research Report on ESNT

About Essent Group

(Free Report)

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.

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