Corient Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 6,015 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $326,000.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Essent Group during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 68.8% in the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 584 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 53.3% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,125 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Essent Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $63,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Essent Group by 53.9% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,362 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares during the period. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Essent Group Stock Down 3.4 %
Shares of ESNT traded down $1.99 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $56.71. 793,359 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 616,283. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52 week low of $52.22 and a 52 week high of $65.34. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $56.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.84. The firm has a market cap of $5.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.80.
Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $315.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $313.88 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.35% and a net margin of 58.69%. Essent Group's revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.64 EPS. Analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Essent Group Increases Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. This is an increase from Essent Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.13%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
ESNT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective 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. Barclays downgraded 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. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $67.00 target price on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Essent Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $62.57.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on ESNT
Essent Group Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
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