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

Corebridge Financial Inc. cut its stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 171,330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,324 shares during the period. Corebridge Financial Inc. owned about 0.16% of Essent Group worth $9,327,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Essent Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its position in Essent Group by 68.8% in 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 during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its position in Essent Group by 53.3% in the 4th 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 last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Essent Group in the fourth quarter worth $63,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 53.9% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Essent Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ESNT opened at $58.55 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.09. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $56.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.01. Essent Group Ltd. has a one year low of $52.22 and a one year high of $65.34.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.67 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $315.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $313.88 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 58.69% and a return on equity of 13.35%. The company’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.64 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. This is a boost from Essent Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Essent Group’s payout ratio is 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.