Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Boosts Stock Position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 561.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,983 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 48,366 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned about 0.05% of Essent Group worth $3,663,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ESNT. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Essent Group by 726.8% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 463 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Essent Group by 167.1% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 836 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 523 shares during the period. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Essent Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Essent Group news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.59, for a total value of $127,180.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 25,416 shares in the company, valued at $1,616,203.44. This trade represents a 7.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. BTIG Research lifted their target price on Essent Group from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $67.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped 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 report on Tuesday, November 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Essent Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $65.00 to $70.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Essent Group currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $65.00.

Essent Group Stock Up 1.5 %

ESNT stock traded up $0.83 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $56.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 686,370 shares, compared to its average volume of 889,741. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52-week low of $47.56 and a 52-week high of $65.33. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.23, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.12.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $316.80 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 60.15%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 969.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.66 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.23%.

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.