Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Shares Bought by Boston Partners

Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 925,322 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 36,081 shares during the period. Boston Partners’ holdings in Essent Group were worth $50,874,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ESNT. Cooke & Bieler LP increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 700,730 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $27,294,000 after buying an additional 241,840 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 884.8% during the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 266,537 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,510,000 after buying an additional 239,473 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 31.1% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 984,414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $53,591,000 after buying an additional 233,636 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 154.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 208,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,431,000 after buying an additional 126,899 shares during the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essent Group Price Performance

NYSE:ESNT opened at $55.43 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $56.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.25. The stock has a market cap of $5.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.10, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.09. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1-year low of $52.22 and a 1-year high of $65.34.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.67 by ($0.09). Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.35% and a net margin of 58.69%. The company had revenue of $315.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $313.88 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.64 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is a boost from Essent Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on ESNT shares. Barclays downgraded Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $69.00 to $58.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $67.00 price target on shares of Essent Group in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Essent Group from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Essent Group from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Essent Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.57.

About Essent Group

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.