Capital World Investors Reduces Stock Position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Capital World Investors trimmed its holdings in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 52.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,996,800 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,520,998 shares during the period. Capital World Investors owned about 4.70% of Essent Group worth $272,026,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,367,101 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $673,265,000 after buying an additional 432,034 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,168,675 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $281,382,000 after acquiring an additional 200,284 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 2,370,484 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $129,049,000 after acquiring an additional 221,950 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP grew its position in shares of Essent Group by 45.9% in the fourth quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 2,228,925 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $121,343,000 after purchasing an additional 700,730 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Essent Group by 43.2% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,709,029 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $93,040,000 after purchasing an additional 515,171 shares during the period. 93.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essent Group Stock Performance

NYSE:ESNT traded down $0.58 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $55.55. The stock had a trading volume of 445,562 shares, compared to its average volume of 637,930. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.80. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $55.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $56.82. Essent Group Ltd. has a one year low of $51.61 and a one year high of $65.34.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 EPS 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 the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.64 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Essent Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Essent Group's payout ratio is 18.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ESNT. Barclays downgraded shares of Essent Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $58.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Essent Group from $71.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Essent Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $60.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $67.00 price target on shares of Essent Group in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.71.

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.