Picton Mahoney Asset Management Acquires 238 Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its holdings in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 68.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 238 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $32,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in Essent Group by 53.3% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,125 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $63,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on ESNT. Barclays lowered Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered 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 target price on Essent Group from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Essent Group from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 price objective on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.57.

Essent Group Stock Up 0.3 %

ESNT opened at $54.87 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 $5.70 billion, a PE ratio of 8.02, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a 50 day moving average of $56.81 and a 200-day moving average of $58.33.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.67 by ($0.09). The firm 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.64 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. This is a positive change from Essent Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Essent Group’s payout ratio 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.