Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Holdings Raised by Voya Investment Management LLC

Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 8.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 252,060 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 18,941 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC owned about 0.24% of Essent Group worth $13,722,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESNT. NFC Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Essent Group by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. NFC Investments LLC now owns 56,688 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,086,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Essent Group by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,363 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $129,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 68.8% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Essent Group by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 47,469 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,584,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in Essent Group by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 3,912 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $213,000 after buying an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Essent Group from $71.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Essent Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $60.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays cut shares of Essent Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price target for the company from $69.00 to $58.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $67.00 price objective on shares of Essent Group in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $61.71.

Essent Group Stock Performance

Shares of Essent Group stock traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $57.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 543,504 shares, compared to its average volume of 639,659. Essent Group Ltd. has a one year low of $51.61 and a one year high of $65.34. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $55.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.63. The stock has a market cap of $5.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.80.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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%. The business's revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.64 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share 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 issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Essent Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.13%.

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.