Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Sells 1,800 Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC cut its stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 23.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,956 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,800 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $314,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in Essent Group by 25.5% in the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,155 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 48,198 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,542,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in shares of Essent Group by 0.5% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 56,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,958,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP grew its stake in Essent Group by 5.3% in the first quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 5,589 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in Essent Group by 1.0% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 41,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,690,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essent Group Stock Performance

NYSE:ESNT opened at $52.63 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.04. Essent Group Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $40.33 and a fifty-two week high of $59.90. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.00.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The financial services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $297.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $286.18 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 62.75% and a return on equity of 14.44%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 29.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.37 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.56 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 12th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.13%. This is a boost from Essent Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Essent Group’s payout ratio is currently 17.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on ESNT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $58.00 to $61.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Essent Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Essent Group from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Essent Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Five 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, Essent Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $58.38.

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.