California Public Employees Retirement System Has $11.16 Million Holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

California Public Employees Retirement System lessened its holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 9.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 204,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 21,395 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.19% of Essent Group worth $11,156,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ESNT. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its stake 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 buying an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 53.3% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,125 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $129,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ESNT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Essent Group from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 target price on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of 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, Barclays lowered shares of Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.57.

Essent Group Stock Performance

Shares of Essent Group stock opened at $54.49 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.80. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52-week low of $52.22 and a 52-week high of $65.34. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $56.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.73.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last posted its quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $313.88 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 58.69% and a return on equity of 13.35%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.64 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. This is an increase from Essent Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.