Fox Run Management L.L.C. Purchases New Position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 12,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $657,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of Essent Group during the fourth quarter valued at $2,080,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in Essent Group by 30.9% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 112,394 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,119,000 after buying an additional 26,537 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Essent Group by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 839,455 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,700,000 after acquiring an additional 91,595 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $781,000. Finally, Semanteon Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,454,000. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essent Group Stock Up 2.1 %

NYSE ESNT opened at $56.75 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 $5.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.09. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $56.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.04.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last released 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 firm had revenue of $315.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.64 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. This is an increase from Essent Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ESNT shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of 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 reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 price target on shares of Essent Group in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective 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 dropped their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Essent Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.57.

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.