Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Shares Purchased by Inspire Investing LLC

Inspire Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNTFree Report) by 14.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,356 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 938 shares during the quarter. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $400,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ESNT. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 132.4% during the third 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 valued at $27,294,000 after buying an additional 241,840 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 68.8% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 436,009 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,499,000 after buying an additional 177,700 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 154.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 208,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,431,000 after buying an additional 126,899 shares during the last quarter. Walleye Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 45.5% during the third quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 345,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $22,223,000 after buying an additional 108,061 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 10.8% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,021,343 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $65,662,000 after buying an additional 99,604 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Stock Performance

Essent Group stock opened at $59.22 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $6.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.11. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1 year low of $50.65 and a 1 year high of $65.33. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $55.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.34.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNTGet Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $316.80 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 60.15%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 969.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.66 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Essent Group’s payout ratio is 16.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target 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 cut their price target on Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays cut 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 report on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Essent Group from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Essent Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.71.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Essent Group

About Essent Group

(Free Report)

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.

See Also

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT)

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