Securian Asset Management Inc. Has $437,000 Stock Position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Securian Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,029 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 233 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $437,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Essent Group during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 53.3% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,125 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $63,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 477 shares during the period. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its holdings in Essent Group by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Stock Performance

ESNT opened at $54.87 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $56.81 and a 200-day moving average of $58.33. The company has a market capitalization of $5.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.09. Essent Group Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $52.22 and a fifty-two week high of $65.34.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $313.88 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.64 EPS. Essent Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This is a boost from Essent Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Essent Group’s payout ratio is 18.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ESNT shares. Barclays cut Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Essent Group from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $67.00 price objective on shares of Essent Group in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Essent Group from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.