Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Stock Holdings Lifted by Nordea Investment Management AB

Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 60,250 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 811 shares during the quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB owned 0.06% of Essent Group worth $3,294,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 726.8% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 463 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Essent Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Essent Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $47,000. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 167.1% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 836 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 523 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Essent Group by 53.9% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $88,000 after buying an additional 477 shares during the period. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essent Group Stock Down 1.1 %

ESNT stock opened at $54.43 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $55.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.19. Essent Group Ltd. has a 12 month low of $50.65 and a 12 month high of $65.33. The company has a market capitalization of $5.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.09.

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

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Essent Group’s payout ratio is 16.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on ESNT shares. Barclays lowered Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $69.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group cut 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 report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Essent Group from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Five 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, Essent Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.71.

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.