Peregrine Capital Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Peregrine Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 21.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 229,870 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 41,174 shares during the quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC owned about 0.22% of Essent Group worth $12,514,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Essent Group during the third quarter valued at $32,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $63,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 53.9% in 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. Centaurus Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the third quarter worth about $130,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Essent Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $177,000. Institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Stock Performance

Shares of Essent Group stock opened at $56.43 on Tuesday. Essent Group Ltd. has a one year low of $51.69 and a one year high of $65.33. The company has a market capitalization of $5.99 billion, a PE ratio of 8.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $56.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.05.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last posted 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 analysts’ expectations of $313.88 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 60.15% and a return on equity of 13.81%. The company’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.64 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. This is an increase from Essent Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Essent Group’s payout ratio is 16.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased 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 note on Monday, November 4th. Barclays cut shares of Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Essent Group from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.71.

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.