182,671 Shares in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Acquired by Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 182,671 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $9,945,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NFC Investments LLC grew its holdings in Essent Group by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. NFC Investments LLC now owns 56,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,086,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $129,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 68.8% in the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 6,988 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $380,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 47,469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,584,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the period. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essent Group Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE ESNT opened at $58.53 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $56.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.30. Essent Group Ltd. has a twelve month low of $51.61 and a twelve month high of $65.34. The company has a market capitalization of $6.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.56, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.87.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 9th. The financial services provider reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.03. Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.35% and a net margin of 58.69%. The business had revenue of $317.56 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $311.18 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.70 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is an increase 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on ESNT. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Essent Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday. 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 MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.71.

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.