Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Shares Sold by Capital World Investors

Capital World Investors lowered its position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 52.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,996,800 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,520,998 shares during the period. Capital World Investors owned about 4.70% of Essent Group worth $272,026,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Essent Group by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,168,675 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $281,382,000 after buying an additional 200,284 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Essent Group by 43.2% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,709,029 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $93,040,000 after purchasing an additional 515,171 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its position in Essent Group by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 3,912 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $213,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Essent Group by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 2,370,484 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $129,049,000 after purchasing an additional 221,950 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group in the fourth quarter valued at $4,029,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ESNT shares. Barclays downgraded shares of 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. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $67.00 price objective on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Essent Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $60.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Essent Group from $71.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essent Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $61.71.

Essent Group Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:ESNT traded down $0.58 on Friday, reaching $55.55. 445,562 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 638,840. The business's 50-day moving average is $55.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.77. Essent Group Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $51.61 and a fifty-two week high of $65.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.12, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.80.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 13.35% and a net margin of 58.69%. The firm had revenue of $315.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $313.88 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.64 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Essent Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Essent Group's payout ratio is 18.13%.

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.