Xponance Inc. Increases Position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Xponance Inc. lifted its position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,915 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 619 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $812,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its position in Essent Group by 68.8% during the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in Essent Group by 53.3% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,125 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Essent Group during the 4th quarter worth about $63,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings 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 worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 477 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ESNT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays cut shares of 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 report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $67.00 price target on shares of Essent Group in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Essent Group from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essent Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.57.

Essent Group Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of ESNT opened at $56.75 on Tuesday. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52-week low of $52.22 and a 52-week high of $65.34. The stock has a market cap of $5.89 billion, a PE ratio of 8.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.09. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $56.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.04.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.67 by ($0.09). Essent Group had a net margin of 58.69% and a return on equity of 13.35%. The business had revenue of $315.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $313.88 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.64 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is an increase from Essent Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.