Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 22,840 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,485,000.
Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Essent Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new stake in Essent Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Essent Group in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several brokerages have issued reports on ESNT. Roth Mkm restated a "buy" rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of Essent Group in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Barclays increased their price target on Essent Group from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Essent Group from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Essent Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $73.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on Essent Group in a report on Friday, May 22nd. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $68.00 price target for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $66.43.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Essent Group
Insider Activity
In other news, 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,218,480 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $144,312,124. This trade represents a 0.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 4,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.01, for a total value of $276,292.50. Following 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 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. Insiders have sold a total of 25,814 shares of company stock worth $1,661,682 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.60% of the company's stock.
Essent Group Price Performance
ESNT stock opened at $56.91 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.78. The business's 50-day moving average is $60.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.55. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $336.07 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $297.56 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 53.64%.Essent Group's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.69 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Essent Group Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be given 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 of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.94%.
Essent Group Profile
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Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
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