State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Has $2.05 Million Holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 18.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,626 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,825 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in Essent Group were worth $2,048,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ESNT. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 132.4% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 424,542 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,294,000 after buying an additional 241,840 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Essent Group by 31.1% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 984,414 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $53,591,000 after buying an additional 233,636 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its stake in Essent Group by 154.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 208,927 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $13,431,000 after acquiring an additional 126,899 shares in the last quarter. Walleye Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 45.5% in the 3rd quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 345,675 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $22,223,000 after acquiring an additional 108,061 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Essent Group by 10.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,021,343 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $65,662,000 after acquiring an additional 99,604 shares in the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Essent Group Stock Down 0.9 %

NYSE ESNT traded down $0.50 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $56.31. The stock had a trading volume of 222,685 shares, compared to its average volume of 810,502. The company has a market cap of $5.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.89. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52-week low of $52.15 and a 52-week high of $65.33.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last released 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 return on equity of 13.35% and a net margin of 58.69%. The company had revenue of $315.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $313.88 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.64 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities 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. Stockholders 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 represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. 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%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays cut shares of Essent Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued 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 dropped their price target on Essent Group from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essent Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $62.57.

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.