Diversified Trust Co Acquires 1,489 Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Diversified Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 11.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,489 shares during the quarter. Diversified Trust Co’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $807,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 726.8% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 463 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Essent Group during the third quarter worth $32,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Essent Group during the second quarter valued at $47,000. Quarry LP increased its position in Essent Group by 167.1% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 836 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 523 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 53.9% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Essent Group from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays lowered Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on 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, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.71.

Essent Group Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of Essent Group stock opened at $55.01 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $55.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.21. The firm has a market cap of $5.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.09. Essent Group Ltd. has a 12 month low of $50.65 and a 12 month high of $65.33.

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

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 16.23%.

Essent Group 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.