Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Shares Acquired by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,570,532 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,387 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 1.48% of Essent Group worth $85,500,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ESNT. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Essent Group by 132.4% during 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 worth $27,294,000 after buying an additional 241,840 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in Essent Group by 31.1% during the fourth 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 period. Barclays PLC increased its position in Essent Group by 154.7% during the third 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 period. Walleye Capital LLC increased its position in Essent Group by 45.5% during the third quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 345,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,223,000 after buying an additional 108,061 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Essent Group by 10.8% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,021,343 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $65,662,000 after buying an additional 99,604 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Price Performance

Essent Group stock opened at $55.64 on Tuesday. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1-year low of $52.22 and a 1-year high of $65.34. The company has a market cap of $5.78 billion, a PE ratio of 8.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.09. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $56.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.64.

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 business had revenue of $315.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $313.88 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.64 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Essent Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. Essent Group’s payout ratio is 18.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $67.00 target price on shares of Essent Group in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Essent Group from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Barclays lowered Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $69.00 to $58.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.