Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Shares Sold by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp decreased its holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,445,972 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 102,618 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 1.36% of Essent Group worth $78,719,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the third quarter valued at $32,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Essent Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $63,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Essent Group by 53.9% in the 3rd 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. Centaurus Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Essent Group in the third quarter worth about $130,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $177,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company's stock.

Essent Group Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE:ESNT traded down $0.08 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $55.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 852,213 shares, compared to its average volume of 565,384. 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 moving average of $56.70 and a 200-day moving average of $58.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.80 billion, a PE ratio of 8.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.11.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.67 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $315.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.64 EPS. On average, analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. 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. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. Essent Group's payout ratio is currently 18.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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