Hsbc Holdings PLC Purchases 96,488 Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 553.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 113,930 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 96,488 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned about 0.11% of Essent Group worth $6,214,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its stake in 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 in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its position in Essent Group by 53.3% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,125 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Essent Group in the 4th quarter worth about $63,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Essent Group by 8.2% during the 4th 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on ESNT shares. Barclays downgraded Essent Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $58.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $67.00 price target on shares of Essent Group in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $71.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Essent Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $60.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $61.71.

Essent Group Trading Up 2.7 %

ESNT traded up $1.52 during trading on Friday, hitting $58.56. The stock had a trading volume of 577,384 shares, compared to its average volume of 637,386. The firm has a market cap of $6.08 billion, a PE ratio of 8.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.87. Essent Group Ltd. has a 12 month low of $51.61 and a 12 month high of $65.34. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.44.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.35% and a net margin of 58.69%. The business had revenue of $315.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $313.88 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.64 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.31 dividend. This is an increase from Essent Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.13%.

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.