Paralel Advisors LLC Purchases New Holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Paralel Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 38,358 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,155,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Essent Group by 3.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,917,819 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $709,229,000 after buying an additional 440,385 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,025,836 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $212,326,000 after purchasing an additional 258,246 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,496,741 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $78,938,000 after purchasing an additional 25,483 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 10.7% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,247,184 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $74,220,000 after purchasing an additional 120,881 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Essent Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $60,678,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company's stock.

Essent Group Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE:ESNT traded down $0.82 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $62.63. 388,465 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 500,235. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $60.41 and a 200 day moving average of $57.28. Essent Group Ltd. has a twelve month low of $45.63 and a twelve month high of $64.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.12.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The financial services provider reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.23. Essent Group had a net margin of 61.31% and a return on equity of 14.40%. The company had revenue of $272.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $308.33 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.61 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. Essent Group's payout ratio is 16.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ESNT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Essent Group from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. UBS Group upped their target price on Essent Group from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Barclays raised their price target on Essent Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Essent Group from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Essent Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the company from $65.00 to $70.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $64.33.

Insider Activity

In other Essent Group news, SVP Vijay Bhasin sold 11,188 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.14, for a total value of $672,846.32. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 199,359 shares in the company, valued at $11,989,450.26. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Roy James Kasmar sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.81, for a total value of $294,050.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,596,103.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Vijay Bhasin sold 11,188 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.14, for a total value of $672,846.32. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 199,359 shares in the company, valued at $11,989,450.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.90% of the company's stock.

Essent Group 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.