LPL Financial LLC Purchases 2,823 Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 29.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,823 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $673,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ESNT. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Essent Group in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its position in shares of Essent Group by 68.8% in the 4th 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. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in shares of Essent Group by 53.3% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,125 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Essent Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ESNT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Essent Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 price objective on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Essent Group from $71.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.71.

Essent Group Stock Up 3.2 %

Shares of NYSE ESNT opened at $55.41 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $55.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.87. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52-week low of $51.61 and a 52-week high of $65.34. The company has a market cap of $5.75 billion, a PE ratio of 8.10, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.80.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.67 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $315.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $313.88 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.35% and a net margin of 58.69%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.64 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS 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 given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. 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 is 18.13%.

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.