Corient Private Wealth LLC Acquires New Holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Corient Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 6,015 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $326,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings 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 worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in Essent Group by 81.9% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 100,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,445,000 after buying an additional 45,126 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in 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 valued at $27,294,000 after purchasing an additional 241,840 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in Essent Group during the third quarter worth about $511,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $177,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESNT opened at $57.34 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.95 billion, a PE ratio of 8.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.09. Essent Group Ltd. has a 12 month low of $52.22 and a 12 month high of $65.34. The business has a 50-day moving average of $56.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $57.91.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $315.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $313.88 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 58.69% and a return on equity of 13.35%. Essent Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.64 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.16%. This is a positive change from Essent Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Essent Group’s payout ratio is presently 18.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on ESNT. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Essent Group from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 price objective on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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 report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Barclays cut shares of Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $69.00 to $58.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.