Cibc World Markets Corp Takes $532,000 Position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 9,766 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $532,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ESNT. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Essent Group during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 238 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in Essent Group by 53.3% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,125 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Essent Group during the 4th quarter valued at $63,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Essent Group by 53.9% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 477 shares during the period. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Essent Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ESNT opened at $55.51 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.09. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1-year low of $52.22 and a 1-year high of $65.34. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $56.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.13.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $315.00 million for 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.64 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors 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. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is 18.13%.

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.