Walleye Capital LLC Has $46.07 Million Position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Walleye Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 144.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 846,169 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 500,494 shares during the quarter. Essent Group comprises about 0.1% of Walleye Capital LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Walleye Capital LLC owned approximately 0.80% of Essent Group worth $46,065,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ESNT. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $234,000. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Essent Group by 51.4% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 316,224 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $17,215,000 after buying an additional 107,297 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 827.4% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,348 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $182,000 after buying an additional 2,987 shares in the last quarter. Paralel Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Essent Group by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. Paralel Advisors LLC now owns 42,190 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,297,000 after acquiring an additional 3,832 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Fund Management S.A. purchased a new position in Essent Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $588,000. Institutional investors own 93.00% of the company's stock.

Essent Group Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE ESNT traded up $0.42 during trading on Friday, reaching $55.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 856,680 shares, compared to its average volume of 635,060. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.72 billion, a PE ratio of 8.05, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.80. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $56.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $57.11. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1-year low of $51.61 and a 1-year high of $65.34.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.67 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $315.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $313.88 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.35% and a net margin of 58.69%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.64 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Essent Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. Essent Group's payout ratio is 18.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays cut Essent Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Essent Group from $71.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $67.00 target price on shares of Essent Group in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Essent Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $60.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $61.71.

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.