Vestcor Inc Acquires New Position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Vestcor Inc bought a new position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 8,172 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $445,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Essent Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in Essent Group by 53.3% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,125 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 391 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Essent Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 477 shares during the period. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the third quarter worth $130,000. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essent Group Price Performance

ESNT stock opened at $54.87 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.70 billion, a PE ratio of 8.02, 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.33.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $315.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $313.88 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 58.69% and a return on equity of 13.35%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.64 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. This is a boost from Essent Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ESNT has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $67.00 target price on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. 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. Finally, Barclays lowered Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $58.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Four equities research 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 company 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.