Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Stock Holdings Raised by CWA Asset Management Group LLC

CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 25.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,853 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,832 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $754,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Essent Group by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,680,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $262,973,000 after buying an additional 445,853 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Essent Group by 1.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,206,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $270,425,000 after purchasing an additional 59,750 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Essent Group by 0.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,551,145 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $99,723,000 after purchasing an additional 12,431 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Essent Group by 10.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,021,343 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $65,662,000 after purchasing an additional 99,604 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Essent Group by 1.4% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 750,778 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,268,000 after purchasing an additional 10,684 shares during the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essent Group Stock Performance

NYSE:ESNT opened at $54.24 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $5.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.86, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.11. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1 year low of $50.65 and a 1 year high of $65.33. The business has a fifty day moving average of $55.55 and a 200-day moving average of $59.27.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its 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 net margin of 60.15% and a return on equity of 13.81%. The company 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 earned $1.66 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 969.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.94 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on ESNT shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Essent Group from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays downgraded Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $69.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Essent Group from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $63.14.

Essent Group 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.