Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 66,552 Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans reduced its stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 32.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 140,021 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 66,552 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Essent Group were worth $7,623,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Essent Group by 154.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 208,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,431,000 after purchasing an additional 126,899 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Essent Group by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,570,532 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $85,500,000 after buying an additional 19,387 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Essent Group by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,021,343 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $65,662,000 after buying an additional 99,604 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 1.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,206,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $270,425,000 after buying an additional 59,750 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. boosted its position in shares of Essent Group by 81.9% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 100,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,445,000 after acquiring an additional 45,126 shares during the period. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essent Group Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of Essent Group stock opened at $55.51 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $5.76 billion, a PE ratio of 8.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a 50 day moving average of $56.88 and a 200-day moving average of $58.09. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1-year low of $52.22 and a 1-year high of $65.34.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.67 by ($0.09). Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.35% and a net margin of 58.69%. The business had revenue of $315.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $313.88 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.64 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Essent Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ESNT has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $67.00 price target on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped 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 downgraded Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.57.

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.