Nebula Research & Development LLC Has $3.01 Million Position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Nebula Research & Development LLC lifted its stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 16.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 55,306 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 8,004 shares during the period. Nebula Research & Development LLC owned 0.05% of Essent Group worth $3,011,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ESNT. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Essent Group by 154.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 208,927 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $13,431,000 after acquiring an additional 126,899 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Essent Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $686,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Essent Group by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 47,182 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,993,000 after acquiring an additional 1,309 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Essent Group by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,021,343 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $65,662,000 after acquiring an additional 99,604 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Essent Group by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 60,250 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,294,000 after buying an additional 811 shares during the period. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Essent Group Price Performance

Shares of ESNT traded up $0.47 on Wednesday, reaching $56.77. 176,151 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 806,365. The firm has a market cap of $5.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.30, a P/E/G 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 $65.33. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $55.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.63.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.67 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $315.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $313.88 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 58.69% and a return on equity of 13.35%. Essent Group's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.64 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 a positive change 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 2.18%. Essent Group's payout ratio is currently 18.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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