Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Trims Stock Holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. trimmed its holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 69.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,415 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 39,568 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.'s holdings in Essent Group were worth $948,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ESNT. KBC Group NV raised its stake in Essent Group by 15.8% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,009 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $193,000 after buying an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Essent Group by 22.7% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 13,706 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $881,000 after purchasing an additional 2,532 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in Essent Group by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 750,778 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $48,268,000 after purchasing an additional 10,684 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Essent Group by 53.9% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,362 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Essent Group by 112.0% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 27,064 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,740,000 after purchasing an additional 14,300 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 Stock Performance

Shares of ESNT stock traded up $1.16 on Monday, reaching $56.75. The stock had a trading volume of 579,662 shares, 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 price-to-earnings-growth 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 company has a 50 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 quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $315.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $313.88 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.64 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.31 per share. This is a boost from Essent Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Essent Group Company 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.