R Squared Ltd Invests $63,000 in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 1,160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $63,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 726.8% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 463 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 167.1% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 836 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 523 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 53.9% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 51.9% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,803 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $116,000 after purchasing an additional 616 shares during the period. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essent Group Stock Down 1.3 %

ESNT stock opened at $58.22 on Friday. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52-week low of $50.65 and a 52-week high of $65.33. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $55.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.35. The company has a market capitalization of $6.18 billion, a PE ratio of 8.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.11.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.08). Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 60.15%. The business had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $316.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.66 earnings per share. Essent Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 969.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.94 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ESNT has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Essent Group from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays lowered Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Essent Group from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.71.

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.