Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Shares Acquired by Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 94.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 86,819 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 42,197 shares during the quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC owned about 0.08% of Essent Group worth $4,579,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in shares of Essent Group by 12.9% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 15,880 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $838,000 after buying an additional 1,816 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in shares of Essent Group by 18.9% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 23,806 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,256,000 after buying an additional 3,792 shares during the period. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $621,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,582,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Essent Group by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 353,218 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $18,629,000 after buying an additional 15,116 shares during the period. 93.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essent Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESNT traded up $0.79 during trading on Friday, hitting $53.46. The company's stock had a trading volume of 534,602 shares, compared to its average volume of 416,379. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $54.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.09. The company has a market capitalization of $5.71 billion, a PE ratio of 8.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.04. Essent Group Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $40.33 and a fifty-two week high of $59.90.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The financial services provider reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $297.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $286.18 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 62.75% and a return on equity of 14.44%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 29.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.37 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were paid a $0.28 dividend. This is an increase from Essent Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 12th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. Essent Group's payout ratio is 17.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ESNT has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Essent Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Essent Group from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $58.00 to $61.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Essent Group from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Essent Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Essent Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $58.38.

Essent Group Company 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.