Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Shares Acquired by Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC

Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC lifted its position in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 566,121 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 15,137 shares during the period. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $30,820,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ESNT. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its stake in 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 last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted 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 buying 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 grew 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 buying 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 topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 price objective on shares of Essent Group in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Essent Group from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays downgraded Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $58.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Essent Group from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.57.

Essent Group Stock Down 4.0 %

ESNT opened at $54.49 on Friday. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52-week low of $52.22 and a 52-week high of $65.34. The company has a 50 day moving average of $56.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $57.73. The company has a market cap of $5.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.80.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its quarterly 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). Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.35% and a net margin of 58.69%. The business had revenue of $315.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $313.88 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.64 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is an increase from Essent Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. 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.