Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT Shares Sold by Capital World Investors

Key Points

• Capital World Investors cut its Essent Group stake by 4.9% in the fourth quarter, though it still owned 4.76 million shares valued at about $309.6 million. Institutional investors overall remain heavily invested, holding 93% of the company.
• Essent Group reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, posting $1.82 EPS versus $1.68 expected and revenue of $336.1 million, above estimates. The company also said revenue rose 5.8% year over year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, equal to an annualized yield of 2.5%. Analysts currently have a consensus rating of “Hold,” with an average price target of $66.43.

Capital World Investors lowered its stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,762,129 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 246,219 shares during the quarter. Capital World Investors owned 4.93% of Essent Group worth $309,586,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Essent Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new stake in Essent Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Essent Group in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Essent Group by 45.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 624 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in Essent Group by 97.1% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 676 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essent Group

In other news, CEO Mark Casale sold 13,064 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.05, for a total transaction of $849,813.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,218,480 shares in the company, valued at $144,312,124. The trade was a 0.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 7,628 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.01, for a total value of $480,640.28. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 237,586 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,970,293.86. This represents a 3.11% 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 25,814 shares of company stock worth $1,661,682. Insiders own 3.60% of the company's stock.

Essent Group Stock Down 0.9%

NYSE ESNT opened at $56.91 on Tuesday. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52 week low of $55.22 and a 52 week high of $67.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $60.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.55. The firm has a market cap of $5.24 billion, a PE ratio of 8.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.78.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 53.64%.The business had revenue of $336.07 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $297.56 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.69 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. Essent Group's payout ratio is currently 19.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Essent Group from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Essent Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $73.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $68.00 target price on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $66.43.

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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