HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 14,433 Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

HighTower Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 71.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,854 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 14,433 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $319,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Essent Group in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 53.3% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,125 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Essent Group in the fourth quarter worth about $63,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in Essent Group by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in Essent Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $177,000. 93.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Essent Group Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:ESNT opened at $58.26 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $6.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.52, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $56.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.84. Essent Group Ltd. has a 12 month low of $52.22 and a 12 month high of $65.34.

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

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. This is a positive change from Essent Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.13%.

Essent Group Company 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.