<div id="readability-page-1"><p>Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new stake in  Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 41,694 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,532,000.</p><p>A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ESNT. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of  Essent Group by 4.5% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,399,228 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $311,638,000 after buying an additional 230,553 shares in the last quarter.  Norges Bank acquired a new position in  Essent Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $75,596,000.  JPMorgan Chase &amp; Co. boosted its holdings in  Essent Group by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase &amp; Co. now owns 1,027,429 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $62,396,000 after acquiring an additional 45,606 shares during the period.  Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in  Essent Group by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 941,342 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $57,168,000 after acquiring an additional 28,261 shares during the period.  Finally, Boston Partners grew its position in  Essent Group by 1.0% in the second quarter. Boston Partners now owns 922,070 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $55,463,000 after acquiring an additional 9,509 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own  93.00% of the company's stock. </p><h2>Essent Group Stock Performance</h2><p>Essent Group stock opened at $63.46 on Thursday. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52 week low of $51.61 and a 52 week high of $65.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market cap of $6.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $61.10 and a 200-day moving average of $60.55. </p><p>Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.75 by ($0.08). Essent Group had a return on equity of 12.40% and a net margin of 55.63%.The company had revenue of $311.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $316.84 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.65 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis.  On average, analysts expect that  Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year. </p><h2>Essent Group Announces Dividend</h2><p>The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio  is 18.05%. </p><h2>Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth</h2><p>A number of research analysts have recently commented on ESNT shares. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Essent Group from $59.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a &#34;cautious&#34; rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. JPMorgan Chase &amp; Co. downgraded shares of Essent Group from an &#34;overweight&#34; rating to a &#34;neutral&#34; rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings  reiterated a &#34;buy (b+)&#34; rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued  a Hold rating and one  has issued  a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of &#34;Hold&#34; and a consensus price target of $65.67.</p><p><b>Check Out Our Latest Report on ESNT</b></p><h2>Insider Activity at Essent Group</h2><p>In other Essent Group news, SVP Vijay Bhasin sold 11,479 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $746,135.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 196,922 shares in the company, valued at $12,799,930. This represents a 5.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $260,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 243,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,796,495. This represents a 1.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 21,229 shares of company stock worth $1,364,140. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders. </p><h2>About Essent Group</h2> (Free Report)<p>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.</p><h2>Further Reading</h2><ul><li>Five stocks we like better than Essent Group</li><li>Diversification Can Smooth Returns And Mitigate Portfolio Risk</li><li>Market Momentum: 3 Stocks Poised for Major Breakouts</li><li>Pros And Cons Of Monthly Dividend Stocks</li><li>3 Reasons Casey’s General Stores Will Continue Trending Higher</li><li>Profitably Trade Stocks at 52-Week Highs</li><li>Golden Cross Alert: 3 Stocks With Major Upside Potential</li></ul><p><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/SECFilingChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5ZU0UmU3ltYm9sPUVTTlQ?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="650" height="350" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/SECFilingChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5ZU0UmU3ltYm9sPUVTTlQ"/></p><p><em>This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.</em></p><h2>Should You Invest $1,000 in Essent Group Right Now?</h2><p>Before you consider Essent Group, you'll want to hear this.</p><p>MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Essent Group wasn't on the list.</p><p>While Essent Group currently has a Hold rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.</p><p>View The Five Stocks Here</p>                  </div>

ESNT

<p>Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired 41,694 shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) during the 2nd quarter, valued at approximately $2,532,000. Other institutional investors also modified their holdings. Essent Group's stock opened at $63.46, with a market cap of $6.14 billion. The company reported $1.67 EPS for the last quarter, missing estimates. Essent Group announced a quarterly dividend of $0.31. Analysts have a consensus rating of 'Hold' for the stock.</p>

41,694 Shares in Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT Bought by Gamco Investors INC. ET AL