Empowered Funds LLC Takes $2.36 Million Position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 43,374 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,361,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ellsworth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Essent Group by 5.2% during the third quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 10,070 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $647,000 after buying an additional 498 shares during the last quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $463,000. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in shares of Essent Group by 163.4% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 44,676 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,872,000 after purchasing an additional 27,717 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Essent Group by 20.6% during the third quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 23,458 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,508,000 after purchasing an additional 4,010 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BayBridge Capital Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Essent Group by 5.7% during the third quarter. BayBridge Capital Group LLC now owns 8,077 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $519,000 after purchasing an additional 434 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company's stock.

Essent Group Trading Up 0.4 %

ESNT traded up $0.21 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $56.62. 212,219 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 760,383. Essent Group Ltd. has a one year low of $51.69 and a one year high of $65.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.01 billion, a PE ratio of 8.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.11. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $56.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $59.02.

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). Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 60.15%. The business had revenue of $315.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $313.88 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.64 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Essent Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Essent Group's payout ratio is presently 16.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on ESNT shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Essent Group from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. 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 report on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price 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. Finally, Barclays downgraded 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 report on Monday, January 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $62.57.

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.