R Squared Ltd Takes Position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 1,160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $63,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,206,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $270,425,000 after acquiring an additional 59,750 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Essent Group by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,551,145 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $99,723,000 after purchasing an additional 12,431 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Essent Group by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,021,343 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $65,662,000 after purchasing an additional 99,604 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in Essent Group by 1.4% during the 3rd 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 period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Essent Group by 132.4% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 424,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,294,000 after purchasing an additional 241,840 shares during the period. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Essent Group Stock Performance

Shares of ESNT stock opened at $58.22 on Friday. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1 year low of $50.65 and a 1 year high of $65.33. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $55.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.18 billion, a PE ratio of 8.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.11.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $316.80 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 60.15% and a return on equity of 13.81%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 969.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.66 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Essent Group from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays lowered Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently 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.