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

LSV Asset Management lessened its stake in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing 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 period. LSV Asset Management owned approximately 0.54% of Essent Group worth $30,355,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 48,198 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,542,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Pearl River Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Pearl River Capital LLC now owns 8,832 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $418,000 after purchasing an additional 653 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 19,221 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $909,000 after purchasing an additional 667 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE:ESNT opened at $54.54 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $55.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $52.52. The stock has a market cap of $5.83 billion, a PE ratio of 8.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.05. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52 week low of $40.33 and a 52 week high of $59.90.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The financial services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.14. Essent Group had a return on equity of 14.24% and a net margin of 61.40%. The business had revenue of $298.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $298.69 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.59 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on ESNT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $58.00 to $61.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Essent Group from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Essent Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $58.38.

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.