Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Shares Sold by Epoch Investment Partners Inc.

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 27.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 44,092 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 16,431 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.'s holdings in Essent Group were worth $2,400,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ESNT. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its position in shares of Essent Group by 68.8% in the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 584 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Essent Group by 53.3% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,125 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Essent Group during the fourth quarter worth about $63,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in Essent Group by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,363 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $129,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company's stock.

Essent Group Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE ESNT traded down $0.58 on Friday, hitting $55.55. The company had a trading volume of 445,562 shares, compared to its average volume of 638,840. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.12, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.80. Essent Group Ltd. has a 12-month low of $51.61 and a 12-month high of $65.34. The business has a 50 day moving average of $55.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.77.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) 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 firm 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%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.64 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ESNT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Essent Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Essent Group from $71.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays cut shares of Essent Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $67.00 target price on shares of Essent Group in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $61.71.

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.