Citigroup Inc. Buys 45,126 Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 81.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 100,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 45,126 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $6,445,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Diversified Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group during the second quarter worth $725,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Essent Group by 38.7% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 177,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,542,000 after purchasing an additional 49,393 shares in the last quarter. 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 last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 147.5% during the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 33,597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,888,000 after purchasing an additional 20,023 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the second quarter worth about $605,000. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Activity at Essent Group

In related news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.59, for a total value of $127,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 25,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,616,203.44. The trade was a 7.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Essent Group Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of ESNT opened at $57.78 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $60.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.53. Essent Group Ltd. has a 12 month low of $47.56 and a 12 month high of $65.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.12.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $316.80 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 60.15% and a return on equity of 13.81%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 969.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.66 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.23%.

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.