Geode Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT

Key Points

• Geode Capital Management increased its stake in Essent Group by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 3,076,950 shares worth about $206.6 million.
• Essent Group reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $1.82 versus estimates of $1.68 and revenue of $336.1 million, up 5.8% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share and has a 2.5% annualized yield, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with an average target price of $67.86.

Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,076,950 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 129,672 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 3.18% of Essent Group worth $206,628,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ESNT. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 78.9% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,517,859 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $92,180,000 after purchasing an additional 669,577 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,983,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 45.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,198,447 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $76,173,000 after purchasing an additional 372,881 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its position in shares of Essent Group by 152.3% in the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 455,819 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,682,000 after buying an additional 275,149 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Essent Group by 1,616.6% in the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 257,325 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $16,356,000 after buying an additional 242,335 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Essent Group

In related news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 7,628 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The shares were 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 owned 237,586 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,970,293.86. This represents a 3.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark Casale sold 13,064 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 2,218,480 shares of the company's stock, valued at $144,312,124. This trade represents a 0.59% 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 25,814 shares of company stock valued at $1,661,682 in the last ninety days. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Essent Group Stock Performance

Shares of ESNT stock opened at $56.26 on Wednesday. Essent Group Ltd. has a one year low of $55.22 and a one year high of $67.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.32. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $60.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.78.

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

Essent Group Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on ESNT shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $68.00 price objective for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $67.86.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.