Boston Partners Raises Holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Boston Partners boosted its position in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 925,322 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 36,081 shares during the period. Boston Partners owned about 0.87% of Essent Group worth $50,874,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Essent Group by 15.8% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,009 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $193,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Essent Group by 22.7% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 13,706 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $881,000 after purchasing an additional 2,532 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Essent Group by 1.4% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 750,778 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $48,268,000 after purchasing an additional 10,684 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in Essent Group by 561.3% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 56,983 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,663,000 after purchasing an additional 48,366 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised 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 in the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Essent Group Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE ESNT traded up $1.16 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $56.75. 579,662 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 576,137. The stock has a market cap of $5.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.30, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.09. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1 year low of $52.22 and a 1 year high of $65.34. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.09.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.67 by ($0.09). Essent Group had a net margin of 58.69% and a return on equity of 13.35%. The company had revenue of $315.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $313.88 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.64 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Essent Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on ESNT shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $67.00 target price on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. 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 report on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Essent Group from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $62.57.

Essent Group 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.