Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT Shares Sold by State of Alaska Department of Revenue

Key Points

• State of Alaska Department of Revenue cut its stake in Essent Group by 74.3% in Q4, selling 27,935 shares and leaving 9,644 shares valued at about $626,000.
• SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 7,628 shares at an average price of $63.01 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, reducing her position by 3.11% but still holding 237,586 shares (≈$14.97M).
• Analysts show a mixed view with an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $67.86, as several firms trimmed targets into the low-$60s while others maintained or raised theirs.

State of Alaska Department of Revenue reduced its position in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 74.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,644 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 27,935 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue's holdings in Essent Group were worth $626,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Essent Group by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,332 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $152,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Fairvoy Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Fairvoy Private Wealth LLC now owns 45,580 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,963,000 after buying an additional 837 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 21.6% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 15,372 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $999,000 after buying an additional 2,730 shares during the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $500,000. Finally, Net Worth Advisory Group raised its position in shares of Essent Group by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 8,606 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $560,000 after buying an additional 1,229 shares during the period. 93.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ESNT has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Essent Group from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on Essent Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Barclays decreased their price target on Essent Group from $63.00 to $61.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 6th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Essent Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essent Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $67.86.

Insider Transactions at Essent Group

In related news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 7,628 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.01, for a total transaction of $480,640.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 237,586 shares in the company, valued at $14,970,293.86. This trade represents a 3.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 3.60% of the company's stock.

Essent Group Stock Up 2.3%

Essent Group stock opened at $64.59 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.07 billion, a PE ratio of 9.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.20. Essent Group Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $55.11 and a fifty-two week high of $67.09. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $59.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.57.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.74 by ($0.14). Essent Group had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 54.72%.The firm had revenue of $312.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $312.62 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.58 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Essent Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.32%.

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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