Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Shares Sold by Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC decreased its holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 250,357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 14,248 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned 0.24% of Essent Group worth $13,639,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESNT. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group during the 4th quarter valued at $2,361,000. Vest Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 94.5% during the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 45,618 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,483,000 after acquiring an additional 22,160 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 216.3% during the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 39,111 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,128,000 after acquiring an additional 26,745 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew 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 valued at $53,591,000 after acquiring an additional 233,636 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 18.1% during the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 56,191 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,059,000 after acquiring an additional 8,597 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ESNT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of 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 shares of Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Essent Group from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.71.

Essent Group Trading Down 2.6 %

Shares of Essent Group stock opened at $56.43 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $56.13 and a 200-day moving average of $59.05. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1-year low of $51.69 and a 1-year high of $65.33. The company has a market cap of $5.99 billion, a PE ratio of 8.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.11.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.67 by ($0.09). Essent Group had a net margin of 60.15% and a return on equity of 13.81%. The business had revenue of $315.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $313.88 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.64 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. This is a positive change 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 (DPR) is 16.23%.

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.