Jennison Associates LLC Grows Stock Position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 750,778 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 10,684 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC owned 0.71% of Essent Group worth $48,268,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ESNT. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Essent Group by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,680,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $262,973,000 after purchasing an additional 445,853 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Essent Group by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,917,819 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $709,229,000 after acquiring an additional 440,385 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Essent Group by 68.8% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 436,009 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,499,000 after acquiring an additional 177,700 shares during the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Essent Group in the second quarter worth $4,748,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the second quarter worth $4,416,000. Institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Essent Group

In related news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.59, for a total value of $127,180.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 25,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,616,203.44. This represents a 7.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Price Performance

Shares of ESNT stock opened at $55.98 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $60.82 and its 200 day moving average is $59.45. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1-year low of $47.56 and a 1-year high of $65.33. The company has a market cap of $5.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.11, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.12.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $316.80 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 60.15%. Essent Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 969.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.66 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.95 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on ESNT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. BTIG Research raised their price objective on Essent Group from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Essent Group from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essent Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.00.

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.