Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Shares Acquired by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 47,469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $2,584,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Essent Group by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,367,101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $673,265,000 after purchasing an additional 432,034 shares in the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP raised its position in shares of Essent Group by 45.9% during the 4th quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 2,228,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $121,343,000 after purchasing an additional 700,730 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Essent Group by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,570,532 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $85,500,000 after buying an additional 19,387 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Essent Group in the 4th quarter worth about $69,364,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Essent Group by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,097,180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $59,730,000 after buying an additional 75,837 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Stock Up 1.4 %

NYSE ESNT opened at $54.96 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $56.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.30. The firm has a market cap of $5.71 billion, a PE ratio of 8.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.80. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52 week low of $51.61 and a 52 week high of $65.34.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its earnings results 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). Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.35% and a net margin of 58.69%. The firm had revenue of $315.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $313.88 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.64 earnings per share. Essent Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Essent Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays cut shares of Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Essent Group from $71.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $67.00 price target on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Essent Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.71.

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.