Semanteon Capital Management LP Acquires Shares of 26,714 Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Semanteon Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 26,714 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,454,000. Essent Group accounts for approximately 0.8% of Semanteon Capital Management LP's holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in ESNT. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 154.7% in 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 during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $85,500,000 after purchasing an additional 19,387 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Essent Group by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,021,343 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $65,662,000 after purchasing an additional 99,604 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,206,325 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $270,425,000 after acquiring an additional 59,750 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in Essent Group by 81.9% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 100,253 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,445,000 after purchasing an additional 45,126 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company's stock.

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Essent Group Stock Up 1.0 %

ESNT traded up $0.55 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $57.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 680,124 shares, compared to its average volume of 575,737. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.04. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1 year low of $52.22 and a 1 year high of $65.34. The company has a market cap of $5.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.38, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.09.

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

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This is a boost from Essent Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. Essent Group's payout ratio is presently 18.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on ESNT. Barclays cut shares of Essent Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price target for the company from $69.00 to $58.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Essent Group from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $67.00 price target on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Essent Group from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $62.57.

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.