Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Acquires 17,228 Shares of Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT

Key Points

• Mirae Asset Global Investments acquired 17,228 Essent Group shares in the third quarter, valued at approximately $998,000. Institutional investors own 93% of the company’s stock.
• Essent’s third-quarter revenue of $374.2 million topped estimates, while EPS of $1.82 fell short of consensus. The company declared a $0.35 quarterly dividend and authorized a new $500 million share-repurchase plan.
• Company insiders sold 69,663 shares worth about $4.87 million over the past three months; insiders retain 3.6% ownership.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 17,228 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $998,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $798,836,000. Renaissancere Holdings Ltd. bought a new position in Essent Group during the second quarter valued at about $107,114,521. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in Essent Group during the second quarter worth about $43,068,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Essent Group during the second quarter worth about $41,041,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Essent Group during the second quarter worth about $24,746,000. 93.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Essent Group news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.70, for a total transaction of $174,250.00. Following the sale, the director owned 30,154 shares in the company, valued at $2,101,733.80. This represents a 7.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Mark Casale sold 21,607 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,039,691 shares of the company's stock, valued at $142,921,148.37. The trade was 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. Insiders sold 69,663 shares of company stock worth $4,866,555 in the last three months. Insiders own 3.60% of the company's stock.

More Essent Group News

Here are the key news stories impacting Essent Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Essent authorized a new $500 million share repurchase plan, which could support per-share results and return capital to shareholders. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share. Essent outlines premiums and share repurchase plan Essent declares dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Third-quarter revenue was $374.2 million, above analysts’ roughly $344.2 million estimate. EPS also rose year over year, to $1.82 from $1.67. Essent posts better-than-expected sales
• Positive Sentiment: Essent outlined approximately $320 million in 2026 property-and-casualty written premiums, pointing to activity beyond its core mortgage insurance business. Essent outlines 2026 premiums
• Negative Sentiment: EPS of $1.82 missed consensus estimates of $1.85–$1.88. The modest shortfall may have overshadowed the revenue beat and year-over-year earnings growth. Essent lags Q3 earnings estimates

Essent Group Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Essent Group stock opened at $63.36 on Monday. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52-week low of $55.34 and a 52-week high of $71.84. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $65.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $63.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 0.83.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.03). Essent Group had a return on equity of 11.99% and a net margin of 49.08%. The business had revenue of $374.18 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $344.17 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.67 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.58 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 1st. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ESNT has been the topic of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Essent Group from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Essent Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Essent Group from $72.00 to $66.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 12th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded Essent Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $78.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Friday, October 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essent Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $70.75.

Essent Group Profile

Essent Group is a Bermuda-based provider of mortgage insurance and reinsurance, operating primarily in the United States. Its services help mortgage lenders manage the credit risk associated with residential home loans.

Through its U.S. mortgage insurance subsidiary, Essent Guaranty, the company provides private mortgage insurance for eligible borrowers who make smaller down payments on conventional mortgages. The coverage can help lenders reduce potential losses if a borrower defaults.

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.