Jupiter Topco LLC Invests $2.40 Million in Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT

Key Points

• Jupiter Topco initiated a $2.40 million position in Essent Group, purchasing 37,338 shares during the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own approximately 93% of the company.
• Analysts raised their price targets to between $72 and $78, but the consensus rating remains “Hold” with an average target of $71.86. Essent reported quarterly EPS of $2.08 on $362.69 million in revenue.
• Essent announced a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, equal to a 2.0% annualized yield. Meanwhile, insiders sold 98,848 shares worth about $6.73 million over the past 90 days.

Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 37,338 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,401,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ESNT. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Essent Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $798,836,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Essent Group by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,076,950 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $206,628,000 after purchasing an additional 129,672 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $155,516,000. Cooke & Bieler LP boosted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,952,006 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $126,900,000 after buying an additional 13,318 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Essent Group by 43.7% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,864,067 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $121,183,000 after buying an additional 567,103 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective 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. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Essent Group from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Essent Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Essent Group from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essent Group has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $71.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Vijay Bhasin sold 14,175 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $992,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 184,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,899,180. This represents a 7.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.51, for a total value of $349,305.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 35,494 shares in the company, valued at $2,254,223.94. The trade was a 13.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 98,848 shares of company stock valued at $6,726,789. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Essent Group Stock Up 1.3%

ESNT stock opened at $68.98 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $6.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.62, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.76. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1-year low of $55.34 and a 1-year high of $70.37. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $66.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $62.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.18.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last posted 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 net margin of 51.45% and a return on equity of 11.91%. The company had revenue of $362.69 million for the quarter. Research analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.6 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. Essent Group's payout ratio is presently 19.53%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ESNT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report).

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.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source