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 - Free Report) by 32.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 140,021 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 66,552 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 0.13% of Essent Group worth $7,623,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Barclays PLC increased its position in Essent Group by 154.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 208,927 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $13,431,000 after buying an additional 126,899 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Essent Group by 1.2% in the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 19,387 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 10.8% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,021,343 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $65,662,000 after buying an additional 99,604 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 59,750 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in Essent Group by 81.9% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company's stock.

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Essent Group Price Performance

Shares of Essent Group stock traded up $0.50 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $58.55. The company had a trading volume of 746,436 shares, compared to its average volume of 577,082. The firm has a market cap of $6.08 billion, a PE ratio of 8.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.09. Essent Group Ltd. has a one year low of $52.22 and a one year high of $65.34. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.00.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 EPS 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 company had revenue of $315.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $313.88 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.64 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. This is a boost from Essent Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Essent Group's payout ratio is currently 18.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on ESNT. Barclays downgraded Essent Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Essent Group from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note 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 on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $67.00 price objective on shares of Essent Group in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $62.57.

Essent Group Company 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.