Paralel Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Paralel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 10.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 42,190 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,832 shares during the period. Paralel Advisors LLC’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $2,297,000 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 ESNT. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Essent Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 68.8% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 53.3% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,125 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the fourth quarter worth $63,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $129,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of Essent Group stock traded down $0.76 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $54.68. 10,025 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 626,001. The company has a 50 day moving average of $56.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $57.42. Essent Group Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $51.61 and a fifty-two week high of $65.34. The stock has a market cap of $5.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.99, a P/E/G 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). Essent Group had a net margin of 58.69% and a return on equity of 13.35%. The firm had revenue of $315.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $313.88 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.64 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.31 dividend. This is an increase from Essent Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ESNT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $67.00 target price on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays cut Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $58.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Essent Group from $71.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essent Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.71.

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.