Wells Fargo & Company MN Has $3.42 Million Stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 27.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 62,778 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 13,481 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned approximately 0.06% of Essent Group worth $3,418,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ESNT. Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC acquired a new position in Essent Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $376,000. Provident Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Essent Group by 25.6% during the fourth quarter. Provident Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,350 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $999,000 after purchasing an additional 3,740 shares during the last quarter. EMG Holdings L.P. bought a new position in Essent Group in the fourth quarter valued at $3,635,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Essent Group by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 47,469 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,584,000 after buying an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Essent Group during the 4th quarter worth about $312,000. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ESNT has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Essent Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $60.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Essent Group from $71.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays cut Essent Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $67.00 target price on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $61.71.

Essent Group Trading Up 3.2 %

ESNT stock opened at $55.41 on Wednesday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $55.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.87. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1-year low of $51.61 and a 1-year high of $65.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.75 billion, a PE ratio of 8.10, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.80.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.67 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $315.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $313.88 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 58.69% and a return on equity of 13.35%. Essent Group's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.64 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.31 dividend. This is an increase from Essent Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.13%.

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.

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