Zacks Investment Management Takes $266,000 Position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Zacks Investment Management acquired a new stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 4,895 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $266,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ESNT. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Essent Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its holdings in Essent Group by 68.8% in the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 584 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 53.3% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,125 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in Essent Group by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,363 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ESNT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $67.00 target price on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays cut shares of 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 report on Monday, January 6th. 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 report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Essent Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $61.71.

Essent Group Trading Up 1.1 %

ESNT stock traded up $0.62 during trading on Thursday, hitting $56.15. The company had a trading volume of 643,195 shares, compared to its average volume of 638,700. The stock has a market cap of $5.83 billion, a PE ratio of 8.21, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.80. The business has a 50-day moving average of $55.81 and a 200-day moving average of $56.87. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $315.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $313.88 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.64 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.31 dividend. This is a positive change from Essent Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.