Deutsche Bank AG Buys 44,407 Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 15.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 331,197 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 44,407 shares during the quarter. Deutsche Bank AG’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $18,030,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ESNT. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Essent Group by 154.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 208,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,431,000 after purchasing an additional 126,899 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Essent Group by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,570,532 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $85,500,000 after buying an additional 19,387 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 39.8% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,207 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $229,000 after buying an additional 1,198 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 516,747 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,132,000 after acquiring an additional 27,077 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of Essent Group by 30.9% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 112,394 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,119,000 after purchasing an additional 26,537 shares in the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Essent Group news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 1,777 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.07, for a total transaction of $106,744.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 253,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,199,031.54. This represents a 0.70% 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, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.80, for a total value of $179,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 27,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,624,467. The trade was a 9.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,001 shares of company stock valued at $299,591 in the last ninety days. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Essent Group Stock Performance

Shares of ESNT stock opened at $58.62 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.57, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.87. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52-week low of $51.61 and a 52-week high of $65.34. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $56.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.33.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 9th. The financial services provider reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $317.56 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $311.18 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.35% and a net margin of 58.69%. Essent Group’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.70 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Essent Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essent Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.71.

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.