Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. Buys New Shares in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 10,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $572,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in Essent Group by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 28,181 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,534,000 after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares in the last quarter. Angel Oak Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Essent Group in the 4th quarter worth $240,000. Peregrine Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Essent Group by 21.8% in the 4th quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC now owns 229,870 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,514,000 after purchasing an additional 41,174 shares in the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its stake in Essent Group by 18.3% in the 4th quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 37,626 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,048,000 after purchasing an additional 5,825 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in Essent Group by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 349,978 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,053,000 after purchasing an additional 4,935 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:ESNT opened at $56.13 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.21, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.11. Essent Group Ltd. has a 12 month low of $51.93 and a 12 month high of $65.33. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $56.19 and its 200 day moving average is $58.97.

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). The firm had revenue of $315.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $313.88 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 58.69% and a return on equity of 13.35%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.64 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. This is an increase from Essent Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on ESNT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Essent Group from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Barclays downgraded shares of Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $58.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Essent Group from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $67.00 target price on shares of Essent Group in a report on Tuesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Essent Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.