Capstone Investment Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT

Key Points

• Capstone Investment Advisors established a new Essent Group position by purchasing 15,031 shares valued at approximately $966,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 93% of ESNT.
• Essent reported quarterly earnings of $2.08 per share on $362.69 million in revenue, while analysts expect full-year earnings of $7.60 per share. The company also declared a $0.35 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 2.0% annual yield.
• ESNT shares opened at $69.32, near their 52-week high of $70.37. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $71.86, despite several firms raising their targets.

Capstone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 15,031 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $966,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Essent Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Allworth Financial LP purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 97.1% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 676 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares during the period. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Essent Group news, SVP Vijay Bhasin sold 14,175 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $992,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 184,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,899,180. The trade was a 7.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 5,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.51, for a total transaction of $349,305.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 35,494 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,254,223.94. This trade represents a 13.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 98,848 shares of company stock valued at $6,726,789. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Essent Group Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of ESNT stock opened at $69.32 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $65.89 and a 200 day moving average of $62.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market cap of $6.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.76. Essent Group Ltd. has a twelve month low of $55.34 and a twelve month high of $70.37.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $362.69 million for the quarter. Essent Group had a return on equity of 11.91% and a net margin of 51.45%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.6 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio is 19.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ESNT has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Essent Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Essent Group from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Essent Group from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Essent Group has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $71.86.

Essent Group Company Profile

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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