Intech Investment Management LLC Has $3.78 Million Stake in Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT

Key Points

• Intech Investment Management cut its Essent Group stake by 64.9% in the fourth quarter, leaving it with 58,072 shares worth about $3.78 million.
• Essent Group reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings of $1.82 per share on revenue of $336.07 million, and its revenue rose 5.8% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, payable June 10, while analysts mostly remain cautious with an overall Hold rating and average target price of $67.86.

Intech Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 64.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 58,072 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 107,505 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC owned about 0.06% of Essent Group worth $3,775,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Essent Group during the third quarter worth $25,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new position in Essent Group during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Essent Group by 45.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 624 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in Essent Group by 97.1% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 676 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in Essent Group during the 3rd quarter worth $57,000. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essent Group Stock Performance

NYSE ESNT opened at $56.75 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $5.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.08, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.81. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $60.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $61.70. Essent Group Ltd. has a twelve month low of $55.22 and a twelve month 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.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $336.07 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $297.56 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 53.64% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.69 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on ESNT. UBS Group cut their target price 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. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $68.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Barclays upped 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Essent Group has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $67.86.

Insider Transactions at Essent Group

In other Essent Group news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 4,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.01, for a total transaction of $276,292.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 233,336 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,169,173.36. This represents a 1.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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 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 directly owned 2,218,480 shares in the company, valued at $144,312,124. This represents a 0.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 25,814 shares of company stock worth $1,661,682. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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