Jennison Associates LLC Buys New Shares in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Jennison Associates LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 381,067 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $20,097,000. Jennison Associates LLC owned approximately 0.36% of Essent Group as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ESNT. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Essent Group during the third quarter valued at $1,634,000. Ellsworth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Essent Group during the third quarter valued at about $394,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its holdings in Essent Group by 11.8% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 93,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,427,000 after acquiring an additional 9,897 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in Essent Group by 12.4% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 13,980 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $661,000 after acquiring an additional 1,544 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in Essent Group by 17.0% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 20,014 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $946,000 after acquiring an additional 2,906 shares during the period. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essent Group Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of ESNT stock opened at $53.86 on Friday. Essent Group Ltd. has a 12-month low of $40.33 and a 12-month high of $59.90. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $54.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.04.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 9th. The financial services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.05. Essent Group had a return on equity of 14.44% and a net margin of 62.75%. The company had revenue of $297.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $286.18 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.37 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This is a boost from Essent Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 12th. Essent Group’s payout ratio is presently 17.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ESNT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Essent Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Essent Group from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Essent Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $61.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $58.38.

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.