Jennison Associates LLC Acquires 233,636 Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 31.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 984,414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 233,636 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $53,591,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Essent Group by 726.8% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 463 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Essent Group during the fourth quarter worth about $63,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Essent Group by 53.9% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Essent Group by 51.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,803 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 616 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:ESNT opened at $57.46 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $6.10 billion, a PE ratio of 8.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.11. Essent Group Ltd. has a 12-month low of $50.65 and a 12-month high of $65.33. The business has a 50 day moving average of $55.97 and a 200-day moving average of $59.31.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ESNT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Essent Group from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered 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. Barclays cut Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.