Sei Investments Co. Grows Holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 30.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 112,394 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 26,537 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. owned 0.11% of Essent Group worth $6,119,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group during the 4th quarter worth $63,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,363 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on ESNT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Essent Group from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Barclays downgraded shares of Essent Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $67.00 price objective on shares of Essent Group in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Essent Group from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $62.57.

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Essent Group Trading Down 4.0 %

Shares of Essent Group stock traded down $2.25 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $54.49. The stock had a trading volume of 976,979 shares, compared to its average volume of 619,324. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.80. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1 year low of $52.22 and a 1 year high of $65.34. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.68.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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). Essent Group had a net margin of 58.69% and a return on equity of 13.35%. The business had revenue of $315.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $313.88 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.64 EPS. The business's revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend yield of 2.28%. 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. Essent Group's payout ratio is currently 18.13%.

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.