Cozad Asset Management Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

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

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ESNT. Cooke & Bieler LP lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 45.9% in the fourth quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 2,228,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $121,343,000 after acquiring an additional 700,730 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 132.4% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 424,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,294,000 after acquiring an additional 241,840 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 31.1% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 984,414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $53,591,000 after acquiring an additional 233,636 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 154.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 208,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,431,000 after acquiring an additional 126,899 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 45.5% in the third quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 345,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $22,223,000 after acquiring an additional 108,061 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Stock Up 0.3 %

ESNT stock opened at $54.87 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $56.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.33. The stock has a market cap of $5.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.09. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52-week low of $52.22 and a 52-week high of $65.34.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last posted 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). The business had revenue of $315.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $313.88 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.35% and a net margin of 58.69%. Essent Group’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.64 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ESNT. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Essent Group from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $67.00 price target on shares of Essent Group in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Essent Group from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Barclays cut Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $69.00 to $58.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently 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.