5,891 Shares in Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT Acquired by Eisler Capital Management Ltd.

Eisler Capital Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 5,891 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $340,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AdvisorNet Financial Inc acquired a new position in Essent Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the first quarter worth approximately $46,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Essent Group by 330.6% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,098 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 843 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of Essent Group by 20.2% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,114 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming raised its stake 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 worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 852 shares during the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essent Group

In other Essent Group news, Director William Spiegel sold 6,451 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.74, for a total transaction of $404,735.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 26,252 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,647,050.48. This represents a 19.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.79, for a total value of $146,975.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 27,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,608,788.35. This trade represents a 8.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,950 shares of company stock valued at $919,651. Company insiders own 2.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on ESNT. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $60.00 price objective on Essent Group and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Barclays increased their price objective on Essent Group from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded Essent Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Essent Group presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $63.67.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on ESNT

Essent Group Stock Performance

ESNT stock opened at $62.91 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.20 billion, a PE ratio of 9.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The business has a 50 day moving average of $59.40 and a 200-day moving average of $57.73. Essent Group Ltd. has a 12-month low of $51.61 and a 12-month high of $65.33.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $319.14 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $317.46 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 12.66% and a net margin of 56.36%.Essent Group's quarterly revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.91 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.10%.

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.

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