Jennison Associates LLC Acquires 233,636 Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 31.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 984,414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 233,636 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC owned about 0.93% of Essent Group worth $53,591,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 407 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Essent Group during the third quarter valued at $32,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the 4th quarter valued at $63,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 53.9% in the 3rd 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. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Essent Group by 51.9% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,803 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 616 shares during the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essent Group Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:ESNT opened at $57.46 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.11. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1-year low of $50.65 and a 1-year high of $65.33. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $55.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $59.31.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.08). Essent Group had a net margin of 60.15% and a return on equity of 13.81%. The business 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 earned $1.66 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 969.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.94 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ESNT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays lowered Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Essent Group from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.71.

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.