Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Stock Holdings Decreased by Mackenzie Financial Corp

Mackenzie Financial Corp reduced its position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 20.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 160,417 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 40,510 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp owned about 0.15% of Essent Group worth $8,460,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its position in Essent Group by 25.5% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,155 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in Essent Group by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 48,198 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,542,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in Essent Group by 0.5% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 56,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,958,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP grew its position in Essent Group by 5.3% during the first quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 5,589 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in Essent Group by 1.0% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 41,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,690,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ESNT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $58.00 to $61.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Essent Group from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Essent Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Essent Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Essent Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $58.38.

Essent Group Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of Essent Group stock opened at $53.42 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.05. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1-year low of $40.33 and a 1-year high of $59.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.22, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.04.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The financial services provider reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $297.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $286.18 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 62.75% and a return on equity of 14.44%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 29.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.37 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This is a boost from Essent Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. Essent Group’s payout ratio is 17.23%.

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.