American Century Companies Inc. Has $45.70 Million Stock Holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 12.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 839,455 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 91,595 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $45,700,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Essent Group by 22.7% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 13,706 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $881,000 after buying an additional 2,532 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Essent Group by 53.9% during the 3rd 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. Citigroup Inc. raised its position in shares of Essent Group by 81.9% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 100,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,445,000 after acquiring an additional 45,126 shares during the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $130,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Essent Group by 132.4% in the 3rd 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 worth $27,294,000 after purchasing an additional 241,840 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Stock Performance

Shares of ESNT opened at $58.55 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.01. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52-week low of $52.22 and a 52-week high of $65.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.08 billion, a PE ratio of 8.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.09.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $315.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $313.88 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.64 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Essent Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is 18.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ESNT shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $67.00 price objective on shares of Essent Group in a report 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 research report on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.57.

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.