Short Interest in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Rises By 11.5%

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,650,000 shares, an increase of 11.5% from the November 15th total of 1,480,000 shares. Approximately 1.6% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 622,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 sale, the chief financial officer now 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essent Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESNT. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 445,853 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in Essent Group by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,206,325 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $270,425,000 after acquiring an additional 59,750 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Essent Group by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,551,145 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $99,723,000 after acquiring an additional 12,431 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in Essent Group by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 750,778 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $48,268,000 after acquiring an additional 10,684 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $24,499,000 after purchasing an additional 177,700 shares in the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essent Group Price Performance

ESNT traded down $0.22 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $55.19. 893,387 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 535,518. Essent Group has a 12 month low of $50.65 and a 12 month high of $65.33. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.54. The stock has a market cap of $5.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.09.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.65 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $316.80 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 60.15% and a return on equity of 13.81%. Essent Group's quarterly revenue was up 969.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.66 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Essent Group will post 6.94 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.03%. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on ESNT. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays lowered their price target on Essent Group from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Essent Group from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essent Group currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $64.71.

About Essent Group

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.