KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Acquires New Holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 38,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,080,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ESNT. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Essent Group by 22.7% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 13,706 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $881,000 after purchasing an additional 2,532 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Essent Group by 53.9% during 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 in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in Essent Group by 81.9% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 100,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,445,000 after buying an additional 45,126 shares during the period. Centaurus Financial Inc. bought a new position in Essent Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $130,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 132.4% in the third 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 buying an additional 241,840 shares during the period. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays downgraded Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $69.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 price objective on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Essent Group from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Four equities 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 has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.57.

Essent Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ESNT opened at $58.55 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $56.94 and a 200-day moving average of $58.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.56, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.09. Essent Group Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $52.22 and a fifty-two week high of $65.34.

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

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is a positive change from Essent Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is 18.13%.

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.