Van ECK Associates Corp Purchases 22,241 Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 34.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 87,328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,241 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned 0.08% of Essent Group worth $4,754,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew 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 in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew 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 in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew 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 in the last quarter. Walleye Capital LLC grew 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 in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Stock Performance

Shares of ESNT opened at $56.33 on Wednesday. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52 week low of $51.69 and a 52 week high of $65.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.16, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $56.16 and a 200-day moving average of $59.02.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $315.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $313.88 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 60.15% and a return on equity of 13.81%. The firm’s revenue 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 year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is a positive change from Essent Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ESNT. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Essent Group from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $67.00 target price on shares of Essent Group in a report on Tuesday. Barclays downgraded Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $69.00 to $58.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Five equities research 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.com, Essent Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.57.

Essent Group 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.