Fmr LLC Trims Stock Position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

FMR LLC trimmed its position in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 12.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,820,525 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,098,499 shares during the period. FMR LLC owned approximately 7.36% of Essent Group worth $425,749,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Essent Group Price Performance

ESNT traded up $0.30 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $56.06. The stock had a trading volume of 97,544 shares, compared to its average volume of 629,962. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $56.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $57.20. Essent Group Ltd. has a one year low of $51.61 and a one year high of $65.34. The firm has a market cap of $5.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.80.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last issued 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $313.88 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.64 EPS. The company's revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors 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 yield of 2.21%. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on ESNT shares. Barclays lowered shares of 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 research note on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $67.00 target price on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $71.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note 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 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $61.71.

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.