Hsbc Holdings PLC Acquires New Position in Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT

Key Points

• HSBC Holdings PLC initiated a position in Essent Group during the second quarter, purchasing 32,107 shares valued at approximately $2.08 million. Institutional investors collectively own about 93% of ESNT’s outstanding stock.
• Essent reported quarterly EPS of $2.08 on revenue of $362.69 million, with a 51.45% net margin and 11.91% return on equity. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, representing a 2.0% yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with three Buy ratings and five Hold ratings and an average price target of $71.86. Shares recently traded near $68.99, while company insiders sold 98,848 shares worth roughly $6.73 million over the past quarter.

Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 32,107 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,084,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESNT. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in Essent Group during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Essent Group in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Allworth Financial LP purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in Essent Group by 97.1% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 676 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.00% of the company's stock.

Essent Group Price Performance

Shares of Essent Group stock opened at $68.99 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $6.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.18. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $66.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $62.19. Essent Group Ltd. has a one year low of $55.34 and a one year high of $70.37.

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

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

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. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 19.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ESNT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Essent Group from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Essent Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. Roth Capital upped their target price on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $71.86.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.70, for a total value of $174,250.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 30,154 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,101,733.80. This represents a 7.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Casale sold 21,607 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.07, for a total value of $1,514,002.49. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,039,691 shares of the company's stock, valued at $142,921,148.37. This represents a 1.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 quarter, insiders sold 98,848 shares of company stock valued at $6,726,789. Company insiders own 3.60% of the company's stock.

Essent Group 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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