KBC Group NV Has $229,000 Stock Holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

KBC Group NV raised its stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 39.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,207 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,198 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $229,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ESNT. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Essent Group by 726.8% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 463 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Essent Group during the third quarter worth $32,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Essent Group by 53.9% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $88,000 after buying an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 51.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,803 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $116,000 after buying an additional 616 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group during the third quarter valued at about $130,000. Institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays cut shares of 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 report on Monday, January 6th. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Essent Group from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.71.

Essent Group Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of Essent Group stock opened at $58.29 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $55.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.28. Essent Group Ltd. has a 12 month low of $50.65 and a 12 month high of $65.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.11.

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.