Jennison Associates LLC Buys 10,684 Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 750,778 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 10,684 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC owned approximately 0.71% of Essent Group worth $48,268,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Essent Group by 726.8% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 463 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Essent Group in the first quarter worth $32,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Essent Group in the third quarter worth $32,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Essent Group in the second quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 167.1% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 836 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 523 shares in the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $67.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Essent Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $65.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Essent Group from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their target price on shares of Essent Group from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $65.00.

Insider Activity at Essent Group

In other Essent Group news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.59, for a total transaction of $127,180.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 25,416 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,616,203.44. The trade was a 7.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Essent Group Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of ESNT traded up $0.71 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $56.64. The company's stock had a trading volume of 269,499 shares, compared to its average volume of 528,011. The stock has a market cap of $6.02 billion, a PE ratio of 8.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.12. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52 week low of $47.56 and a 52 week high of $65.33. The company's fifty day moving average price is $60.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.45.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $316.80 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 60.15%. The company's revenue was up 969.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.66 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.95 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. Essent Group's payout ratio is 16.23%.

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.