Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Holdings Lifted by State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System

State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT – Get Rating) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,812 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 682 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $1,470,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ESNT. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Essent Group by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 31,731 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,234,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in shares of Essent Group by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 56,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,958,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP grew its stake in Essent Group by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 5,589 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $230,000 after buying an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Essent Group by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its holdings in Essent Group by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 27,433 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,067,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.07% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Stock Performance

NYSE:ESNT opened at $43.28 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.68 billion, a PE ratio of 6.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.40. Essent Group Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $34.27 and a fifty-two week high of $45.01.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.16. Essent Group had a return on equity of 16.47% and a net margin of 73.35%. The company had revenue of $256.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $250.57 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.52 EPS. Essent Group’s quarterly revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.1 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 1st will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 31st. Essent Group’s payout ratio is currently 14.75%.

Insider Activity at Essent Group

In related news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 2,500 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.49, for a total transaction of $108,725.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 26,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,155,746.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 2.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Essent Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 17th. Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Monday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Essent Group in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essent Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.80.

About Essent Group

(Get Rating)

Essent Group Ltd. is a holding company, which engages in the provision of banking services. It offers mortgage insurance, reinsurance, and risk management products. The company was founded by Mark A. Casale on July 1, 2008 and is headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda.