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

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) was the target of a large increase in short interest during 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. Based on an average trading volume of 622,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.7 days. Approximately 1.6% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Essent Group Stock Performance

Shares of Essent Group stock opened at $55.61 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.91 billion, a PE ratio of 8.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.09. Essent Group has a 52-week low of $50.65 and a 52-week high of $65.33.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) 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 firm had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $316.80 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 60.15%. Essent Group’s revenue was up 969.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.66 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Essent Group will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Essent Group’s payout ratio is currently 16.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Essent Group news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.59, for a total value of $127,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 25,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,616,203.44. This represents 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 the SEC website. Insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essent Group

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Essent Group by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,680,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $262,973,000 after acquiring an additional 445,853 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 1.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,206,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $270,425,000 after purchasing an additional 59,750 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Essent Group by 0.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,551,145 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $99,723,000 after purchasing an additional 12,431 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Essent Group by 1.4% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 750,778 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,268,000 after purchasing an additional 10,684 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.