Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Boosts Stock Holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 561.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 56,983 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 48,366 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned about 0.05% of Essent Group worth $3,663,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Essent Group by 726.8% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 463 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group in the first quarter worth about $32,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Essent Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Essent Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its stake in Essent Group by 167.1% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 836 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 523 shares in the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Essent Group

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ESNT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Essent Group from $68.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Essent Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $65.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Essent Group from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.00.

Essent Group Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of ESNT opened at $56.76 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $60.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $59.48. Essent Group Ltd. has a 12-month low of $47.56 and a 12-month high of $65.33. The firm has a market cap of $6.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.12.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued 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 analyst estimates of $316.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.66 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 969.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. Essent Group’s payout ratio is presently 16.23%.

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.