Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Shares Purchased by Assetmark Inc.

Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 11.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 67,676 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,928 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc. owned about 0.06% of Essent Group worth $3,684,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ESNT. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Essent Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 53.3% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,125 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Essent Group during the fourth quarter valued at $63,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Essent Group by 53.9% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,362 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its position in Essent Group by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,363 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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Essent Group Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:ESNT traded up $0.08 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $54.05. 881,342 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 570,942. The firm has a market cap of $5.61 billion, a PE ratio of 7.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.09. Essent Group Ltd. has a twelve month low of $52.22 and a twelve month high of $65.34. The stock's 50-day moving average is $56.80 and its 200-day moving average is $58.55.

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

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is a positive change from Essent Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.13%.

Essent Group Company 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.