Corebridge Financial Inc. Sells 9,324 Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Corebridge Financial Inc. cut its holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 171,330 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 9,324 shares during the period. Corebridge Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.16% of Essent Group worth $9,327,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 154.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 208,927 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $13,431,000 after acquiring an additional 126,899 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Essent Group by 1.2% during 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 during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Essent Group by 10.8% during the third 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 grew its holdings in Essent Group by 1.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,206,325 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $270,425,000 after purchasing an additional 59,750 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. raised its position in shares of Essent Group by 81.9% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 100,253 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,445,000 after purchasing an additional 45,126 shares during the period. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Essent Group Stock Up 0.9 %

Essent Group stock traded up $0.54 on Tuesday, hitting $58.26. The company's stock had a trading volume of 619,355 shares, compared to its average volume of 614,788. Essent Group Ltd. has a one year low of $52.22 and a one year high of $65.34. The firm has a market cap of $6.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $56.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $57.84.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.67 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $315.00 million during 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%. The business's revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.64 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS 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 issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Essent Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.