Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Acquires 25,483 Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,496,741 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 25,483 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 1.40% of Essent Group worth $78,938,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Essent Group in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in Essent Group during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Essent Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $77,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in Essent Group by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,543 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in Essent Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $126,000. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ESNT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Essent Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Essent Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped 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, May 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Essent Group from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the company from $58.00 to $61.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $58.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essent Group

In other Essent Group news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 2,500 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.12, for a total value of $140,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 27,112 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,521,525.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 2.90% of the company's stock.

Essent Group Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of ESNT stock traded down $0.18 on Tuesday, reaching $56.17. The company had a trading volume of 516,384 shares, compared to its average volume of 531,674. The stock has a market cap of $5.99 billion, a PE ratio of 8.52, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50-day moving average of $55.52 and a 200-day moving average of $52.92. Essent Group Ltd. has a 12 month low of $43.27 and a 12 month high of $59.90.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The financial services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $298.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $298.69 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 61.40% and a return on equity of 14.24%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.59 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 16.94%.

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.