Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Shares Bought by Cozad Asset Management Inc.

Cozad Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,143 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 311 shares during the period. Cozad Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $1,369,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Essent Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its position in 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 buying an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 53.3% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,125 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $63,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 53.9% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares during the period. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ESNT has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective 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 issued a $67.00 price objective on shares of Essent Group in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays lowered Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $58.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Essent Group from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Four 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.57.

Essent Group Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of ESNT opened at $54.87 on Tuesday. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52 week low of $52.22 and a 52 week high of $65.34. The company has a market capitalization of $5.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.02, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.09. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $56.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.33.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its 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). The company had revenue of $315.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $313.88 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.35% and a net margin of 58.69%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.64 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. This is an increase from Essent Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.13%.

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.