Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Shares Acquired by South Dakota Investment Council

South Dakota Investment Council increased its position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 11.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 161,455 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,000 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $8,790,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ESNT. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 132.4% in the 3rd 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 worth $27,294,000 after acquiring an additional 241,840 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 233,636 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 154.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 208,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,431,000 after acquiring an additional 126,899 shares during the period. Walleye Capital LLC grew 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 worth $22,223,000 after acquiring an additional 108,061 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 10.8% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Stock Up 0.1 %

ESNT stock opened at $56.16 on Friday. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52-week low of $51.99 and a 52-week high of $65.33. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $56.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.11.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $315.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $313.88 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.35% and a net margin of 58.69%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.64 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.31 dividend. This is a positive change from Essent Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays cut Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $69.00 to $58.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Essent Group from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 target price on shares of Essent Group in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Essent Group from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.