Nordea Investment Management AB Has $3.29 Million Position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 60,250 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 811 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $3,294,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in ESNT. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Essent Group by 726.8% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 463 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the third quarter worth $32,000. Quarry LP increased its position in Essent Group by 167.1% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 836 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 523 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Essent Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Essent Group by 53.9% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of ESNT opened at $54.43 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.19. The stock has a market cap of $5.78 billion, a PE ratio of 7.89, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.09. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1 year low of $50.65 and a 1 year high of $65.33.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $316.80 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.66 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 969.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ESNT. Barclays lowered shares of Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Essent Group from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Essent Group from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Essent Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.71.

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.