Capital Research Global Investors Takes Position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Capital Research Global Investors bought a new position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 4,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $245,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Essent Group by 154.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 208,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,431,000 after purchasing an additional 126,899 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Essent Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $686,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Essent Group by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 47,182 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,993,000 after buying an additional 1,309 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Essent Group by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,021,343 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $65,662,000 after buying an additional 99,604 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Essent Group by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 60,250 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,294,000 after acquiring an additional 811 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of ESNT stock opened at $53.74 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $55.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.88. Essent Group Ltd. has a 12-month low of $51.61 and a 12-month high of $65.34. The company has a market capitalization of $5.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.80.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.67 by ($0.09). Essent Group had a net margin of 58.69% and a return on equity of 13.35%. The company had revenue of $315.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $313.88 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.64 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. This is a boost from Essent Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ESNT. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 target price on shares of Essent Group in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays cut Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $58.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Essent Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, April 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.71.

Essent Group Company 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.