Essent Group Ltd (ESNT): Are Hedge Funds Right About This Stock?

With a general bullishness amongst the heavyweights, key money managers were leading the bulls’ herd. Marshall Wace LLP, managed by Paul Marshall and Ian Wace, initiated the most outsized position in Essent Group Ltd (NYSE:ESNT). According to its latest 13F filing, the fund had $16.4 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Jacob Gottlieb’s Visium Asset Management also initiated a $1.8 million position during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new ESNT investors: George Hall’s Clinton Group and Mike Vranos’s Ellington.

Let’s now review hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Essent Group Ltd (NYSE:ESNT). We will take a look at BancorpSouth, Inc. (NYSE:BXS), Valley National Bancorp (NYSE:VLY), CEB Inc (NYSE:CEB), and Taylor Morrison Home Corp (NYSE:TMHC). This group of stocks’ market valuations resemble ESNT’s market valuation.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 12 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $102 million. Taylor Morrison Home Corp (NYSE:TMHC) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand BancorpSouth, Inc. (NYSE:BXS) is the least popular one with only 10 bullish hedge fund positions. With 21 long hedge fund positions, Essent Group Ltd (NYSE:ESNT) wins this popularity contest having also attracted a lot more of the hedgies’ money: $295 million at the end of the quarter. Considering that hedge funds are fond of this stock in relation to its market cap peers, it may be a good idea to analyze it in detail and potentially include it in your portfolio.