Principal Financial Group Inc. Trims Stock Position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,148,503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,436 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 1.08% of Essent Group worth $73,837,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Barclays PLC grew its position in Essent Group by 154.7% during the third 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 during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,680,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $262,973,000 after acquiring an additional 445,853 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $605,000. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in shares of Essent Group by 163.4% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 44,676 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,872,000 after purchasing an additional 27,717 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Essent Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $526,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Price Performance

ESNT opened at $53.26 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $57.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.41. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1-year low of $50.65 and a 1-year high of $65.33.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $316.80 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 60.15%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 969.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.66 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays cut their price objective on Essent Group from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Essent Group from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $64.71.

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.