LSV Asset Management Sells 40,000 Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

LSV Asset Management lowered its position in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 6.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 575,553 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 40,000 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management owned 0.54% of Essent Group worth $30,355,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ESNT. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 89,746 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,733,000 after acquiring an additional 9,100 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Essent Group by 28.4% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 29,010 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,530,000 after buying an additional 6,418 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in Essent Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,543 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of Essent Group by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 78,099 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,119,000 after acquiring an additional 949 shares in the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Essent Group from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Essent Group from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $61.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Essent Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $58.75.

Essent Group Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of ESNT traded up $1.23 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $55.78. The company had a trading volume of 644,346 shares, compared to its average volume of 530,330. Essent Group Ltd. has a 12 month low of $42.46 and a 12 month high of $59.90. The firm has a market cap of $5.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.44, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a fifty day moving average of $55.21 and a 200-day moving average of $52.58.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The financial services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $298.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $298.69 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 14.24% and a net margin of 61.40%. The company's revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.59 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.94%.

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.