Geode Capital Management LLC Sells 8,374 Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Geode Capital Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,611,020 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 8,374 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 2.46% of Essent Group worth $142,175,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Essent Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $69,364,000. Cooke & Bieler LP increased its position in Essent Group by 45.9% during the fourth quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 2,228,925 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $121,343,000 after acquiring an additional 700,730 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Essent Group by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,367,101 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $673,265,000 after acquiring an additional 432,034 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 884.8% during the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 266,537 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $14,510,000 after purchasing an additional 239,473 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in Essent Group by 31.1% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 984,414 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $53,591,000 after purchasing an additional 233,636 shares during the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on ESNT. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $71.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $67.00 price target on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays downgraded Essent Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Essent Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $60.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.71.

Essent Group Stock Up 1.4 %

NYSE:ESNT traded up $0.77 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $54.96. The stock had a trading volume of 648,329 shares, compared to its average volume of 630,506. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $56.27 and a 200 day moving average of $57.30. The company has a market capitalization of $5.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.03, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.80. Essent Group Ltd. has a one year low of $51.61 and a one year high of $65.34.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analysts' expectations of $313.88 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.64 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. This is a positive change from Essent Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Essent Group's payout ratio is currently 18.13%.

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.