Cozad Asset Management Inc. Sells 2,737 Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Cozad Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 9.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,832 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,737 shares during the period. Cozad Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $1,596,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Essent Group by 726.8% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 463 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Essent Group during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Essent Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 167.1% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 836 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 523 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. BTIG Research increased their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Essent Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $65.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Essent Group news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.59, for a total transaction of $127,180.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 25,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,616,203.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Essent Group Stock Performance

Shares of ESNT opened at $55.24 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.12. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52 week low of $47.56 and a 52 week high of $65.33. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $62.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $59.34.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.08). Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 60.15%. The company had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $316.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.66 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 969.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Essent Group’s payout ratio is currently 16.23%.

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.