Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Shares Sold by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lessened its position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 6.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,445,972 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 102,618 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 1.36% of Essent Group worth $78,719,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ESNT. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Essent Group by 1.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,206,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $270,425,000 after acquiring an additional 59,750 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Essent Group by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,551,145 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $99,723,000 after purchasing an additional 12,431 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 99,604 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased 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 valued at $53,591,000 after purchasing an additional 233,636 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 132.4% in the third 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 valued at $27,294,000 after purchasing an additional 241,840 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Stock Performance

Essent Group stock opened at $57.59 on Tuesday. Essent Group Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $52.22 and a fifty-two week high of $65.33. The company has a market capitalization of $5.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.42, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $56.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.83.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $313.88 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.64 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Essent Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. Essent Group’s payout ratio is 18.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 target price on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Essent Group from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Essent Group from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. 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, Barclays cut 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.57.

Essent Group 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.