Corebridge Financial Inc. Has $9.33 Million Stock Position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Corebridge Financial Inc. lessened its position in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 171,330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,324 shares during the quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc.’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $9,327,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NFC Investments LLC boosted its position in Essent Group by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. NFC Investments LLC now owns 56,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,086,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $129,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its position in shares of Essent Group by 68.8% during the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Essent Group by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 25,143 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,369,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in Essent Group by 53.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of ESNT opened at $58.55 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $56.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.01. The stock has a market cap of $6.08 billion, a PE ratio of 8.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.09. Essent Group Ltd. has a twelve month low of $52.22 and a twelve month high of $65.34.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by ($0.09). Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.35% and a net margin of 58.69%. The company had revenue of $315.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $313.88 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.64 EPS. Essent Group’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. This is a positive change from Essent Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Essent Group from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 target price on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays downgraded shares of Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $69.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.57.

About Essent Group

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.