Clearbridge Investments LLC Has $11.11 Million Holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Clearbridge Investments LLC lessened its position in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 204,030 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,623 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned approximately 0.19% of Essent Group worth $11,107,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Essent Group in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its stake 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 valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its position in Essent Group by 53.3% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,125 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Essent Group in the 4th quarter worth about $63,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in Essent Group by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $129,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ESNT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays downgraded shares of Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $69.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Essent Group from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Essent Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.57.

Essent Group Trading Up 0.9 %

ESNT stock opened at $58.76 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.80. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $56.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $57.85. Essent Group Ltd. has a 12 month low of $52.22 and a 12 month high of $65.34.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $315.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $313.88 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 58.69% and a return on equity of 13.35%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.64 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS 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 $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Essent Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.13%.

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.