Prudential Financial Inc. Has $495,000 Position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Prudential Financial Inc. lowered its stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,098 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 290 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $495,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,313,000. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Essent Group by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,206,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $270,425,000 after purchasing an additional 59,750 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Essent Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $215,000. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 154.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 208,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,431,000 after purchasing an additional 126,899 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the third quarter worth $686,000. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essent Group Trading Up 5.0 %

Shares of ESNT opened at $55.53 on Thursday. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1-year low of $51.61 and a 1-year high of $65.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.12, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.80. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $56.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $57.42.

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

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is a positive change from Essent Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Essent Group from $71.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $67.00 target price on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays downgraded shares of Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $69.00 to $58.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Essent Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.71.

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.