Victory Capital Management Inc. Raises Stock Position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 70,740 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,680 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $3,851,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ESNT. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 15,552 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,000,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 15.8% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,009 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $193,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $881,000 after purchasing an additional 2,532 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 750,778 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,268,000 after purchasing an additional 10,684 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 561.3% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 56,983 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,663,000 after purchasing an additional 48,366 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Price Performance

Essent Group stock opened at $54.72 on Friday. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1-year low of $52.22 and a 1-year high of $65.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s 50-day moving average is $56.79 and its 200 day moving average is $58.43.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $315.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $313.88 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.64 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.31 dividend. This is a positive change from Essent Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is 18.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on ESNT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays downgraded shares of 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 report on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target 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, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $67.00 price target on shares of Essent Group in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.57.

About Essent Group

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.