Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Holdings Raised by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 10.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,021,343 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 99,604 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $65,662,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 47,182 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,993,000 after buying an additional 1,309 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group during the 3rd quarter worth $686,000. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 154.7% during the 3rd 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. iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new position in Essent Group during the third quarter worth $407,000. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the third quarter worth about $215,000. 93.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ESNT shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Essent Group from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Barclays decreased their target price on Essent Group from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essent Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.71.

Essent Group Stock Performance

Essent Group stock opened at $55.01 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $55.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.26. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52 week low of $50.65 and a 52 week high of $65.33. The firm has a market cap of $5.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.09.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.08). Essent Group had a net margin of 60.15% and a return on equity of 13.81%. The company had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $316.80 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.66 earnings per share. Essent Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 969.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.04%. Essent Group’s payout ratio is 16.23%.

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.