Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Stake Raised by UBS Group AG

UBS Group AG grew its position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT – Get Rating) by 3,322.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 213,754 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 207,508 shares during the period. UBS Group AG owned about 0.20% of Essent Group worth $8,311,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Essent Group by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $148,000 after purchasing an additional 515 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its position in Essent Group by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 265,519 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,323,000 after purchasing an additional 8,104 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its position in Essent Group by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 259,991 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,108,000 after purchasing an additional 4,800 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in Essent Group by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 180,917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,035,000 after purchasing an additional 4,384 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in Essent Group by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 30,389 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,182,000 after purchasing an additional 1,149 shares during the last quarter. 92.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essent Group Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:ESNT opened at $43.54 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $41.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.70. Essent Group Ltd. has a twelve month low of $34.27 and a twelve month high of $45.67. The company has a market cap of $4.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.42, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.16.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.16. Essent Group had a return on equity of 16.47% and a net margin of 73.35%. The firm had revenue of $256.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $250.57 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.52 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 1st will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 31st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Essent Group from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Essent Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 13th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Essent Group in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Roth Capital reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Monday, February 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essent Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.80.

Essent Group Company Profile

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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.