Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 81,899 Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,066,604 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 81,899 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 1.00% of Essent Group worth $58,066,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Essent Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $63,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Essent Group by 53.9% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,362 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the third quarter worth approximately $130,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $177,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company's stock.

Essent Group Price Performance

ESNT traded up $0.07 on Friday, hitting $56.16. 1,251,707 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 827,630. The business has a 50-day moving average of $56.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.95. Essent Group Ltd. has a 12 month low of $51.99 and a 12 month high of $65.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.21, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.11.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.67 by ($0.09). Essent Group had a net margin of 58.69% and a return on equity of 13.35%. The business had revenue of $315.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $313.88 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.64 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. 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. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. Essent Group's payout ratio is presently 16.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Essent Group from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Essent Group from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $67.00 price objective on shares of Essent Group in a report on Tuesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Essent Group has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.