Bessemer Group Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT

Key Points

• Bessemer Group increased its Essent Group stake by 14.8% in the fourth quarter, and several other institutional investors also boosted holdings; overall, 93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and institutions.
• Essent Group reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.82 versus the $1.68 estimate and revenue of $336.07 million versus $297.56 million, while quarterly revenue rose 5.8% year over year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share payable June 10, and analysts currently have a Hold consensus rating with an average price target of $68.00.

Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 14.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 485,298 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 62,473 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. owned about 0.50% of Essent Group worth $31,550,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in Essent Group by 385.8% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,642 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $107,000 after buying an additional 1,304 shares during the period. Provident Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Essent Group by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. Provident Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,766 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,480,000 after buying an additional 3,875 shares during the period. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd boosted its position in Essent Group by 68.6% during the fourth quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 8,080 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $525,000 after buying an additional 3,288 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 59.8% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 19,957 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,297,000 after purchasing an additional 7,472 shares during the period. Finally, Seizert Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC now owns 74,992 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,875,000 after purchasing an additional 2,464 shares during the period. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essent Group Stock Performance

Essent Group stock opened at $60.36 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $60.18 and a 200-day moving average of $61.76. The firm has a market cap of $5.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.81. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1-year low of $55.22 and a 1-year high of $67.09.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.14. Essent Group had a net margin of 53.64% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The business had revenue of $336.07 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $297.56 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.69 earnings per share. Essent Group's quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.32 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.94%.

Insider Activity

In other Essent Group news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 4,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.01, for a total value of $276,292.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 233,336 shares in the company, valued at $15,169,173.36. This trade represents a 1.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark Casale sold 13,064 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.05, for a total transaction of $849,813.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,218,480 shares of the company's stock, valued at $144,312,124. This trade represents a 0.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 25,814 shares of company stock valued at $1,661,682 over the last 90 days. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ESNT. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Essent Group from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Essent Group has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $68.00.

About Essent Group

Essent Group Ltd. NYSE: ESNT is a publicly traded insurance holding company specializing in private mortgage insurance and mortgage reinsurance solutions. Through its primary subsidiary, Essent Guaranty, the company provides credit protection to mortgage lenders, helping mitigate the risk of borrower default on residential mortgage loans. Essent's insurance policies enable lenders to offer low-down-payment programs, supporting homebuyers in achieving homeownership with reduced upfront equity requirements.

Beyond traditional mortgage insurance, Essent offers a suite of risk management and analytics services designed to help financial institutions monitor and manage mortgage portfolios.

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