Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Has $893,000 Position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lowered its stake in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 62.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,409 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 27,827 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp's holdings in Essent Group were worth $893,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its position in Essent Group by 68.8% during the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 584 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in Essent Group by 53.3% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,125 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Essent Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $63,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its position in shares of Essent Group by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,363 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $129,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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Essent Group Stock Performance

Essent Group stock traded down $2.25 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $54.49. The stock had a trading volume of 976,979 shares, compared to its average volume of 619,324. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1-year low of $52.22 and a 1-year high of $65.34. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $56.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.80.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 13.35% and a net margin of 58.69%. The business had revenue of $315.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $313.88 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.64 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Essent Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.