Cibc World Markets Corp Buys New Position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 9,766 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $532,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Essent Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 238 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in shares of 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 period. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $63,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 53.9% in 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 period. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ESNT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $67.00 price objective on shares of Essent Group in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Essent Group from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Barclays lowered Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $58.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Essent Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.57.

Essent Group Stock Down 0.6 %

Essent Group stock opened at $55.51 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.09. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $56.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.13. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52 week low of $52.22 and a 52 week high of $65.34.

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 return on equity of 13.35% and a net margin of 58.69%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.64 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. This is an increase from Essent Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.