Franklin Resources Inc. Has $2.99 Million Stock Position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 2.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 47,182 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,309 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $2,993,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ESNT. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Essent Group by 10.5% in 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 period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 1.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,206,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $270,425,000 after buying an additional 59,750 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Essent Group by 0.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,551,145 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $99,723,000 after acquiring an additional 12,431 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 750,778 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,268,000 after acquiring an additional 10,684 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Price Performance

NYSE ESNT opened at $53.84 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $57.17 and its 200-day moving average is $59.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.80, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.09. Essent Group Ltd. has a one year low of $50.65 and a one year high of $65.33.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.08). Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 60.15%. The company had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $316.80 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.66 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 969.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. Essent Group’s payout ratio is 16.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ESNT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Essent Group from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Essent Group from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.71.

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.