Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Shares Bought by Jennison Associates LLC

Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 1.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 750,778 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,684 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $48,268,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Essent Group by 10.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,680,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $262,973,000 after purchasing an additional 445,853 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Essent Group by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,917,819 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $709,229,000 after purchasing an additional 440,385 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Essent Group by 68.8% in the 2nd 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 period. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in Essent Group in the second quarter valued at about $4,748,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in Essent Group during the second quarter worth about $4,416,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essent Group

In other Essent Group news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.59, for a total transaction of $127,180.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 25,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,616,203.44. This trade represents a 7.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Essent Group Stock Performance

Shares of ESNT opened at $55.98 on Friday. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1 year low of $47.56 and a 1 year high of $65.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.95 billion, a PE ratio of 8.11, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.45.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $316.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.66 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 969.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.95 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ESNT. BTIG Research boosted their price target on shares of Essent Group from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Essent Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $65.00 to $70.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Essent Group from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.00.

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.