Sei Investments Co. Acquires 38,169 Shares of Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT

Key Points

• Sei Investments increased its Essent Group stake by 27.3% in the first quarter, purchasing 38,169 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 177,889 shares valued at approximately $10.4 million. Institutional investors collectively own 93% of ESNT.
• Analysts maintain a generally cautious outlook, with four Buy ratings and six Hold ratings; the stock has a consensus price target of $67.71. Recent targets range from $62 to $74.
• Essent Group exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.82 in EPS and $336.1 million in revenue, while revenue rose 5.8% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.35, equivalent to a 2.1% annual yield.

Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 27.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 177,889 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 38,169 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. owned approximately 0.19% of Essent Group worth $10,396,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ESNT. Norges Bank bought a new position in Essent Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $155,516,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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 worth $92,180,000 after acquiring an additional 669,577 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Essent Group in the fourth quarter worth $27,983,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake 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 worth $76,173,000 after acquiring an additional 372,881 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its stake 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 worth $27,682,000 after acquiring an additional 275,149 shares during the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Essent Group from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Roth Capital reissued a "buy" rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Barclays raised 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 note on Monday, May 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Essent Group from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essent Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $67.71.

Essent Group Stock Down 0.7%

Essent Group stock opened at $66.00 on Friday. Essent Group Ltd. has a 12 month low of $55.34 and a 12 month high of $68.62. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm has a market cap of $6.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.40, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.76.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.14. Essent Group had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 53.64%.The firm had revenue of $336.07 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $297.56 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.69 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 19.94%.

Insider Activity at Essent Group

In other Essent Group news, CEO Mark Casale sold 29,329 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.35, for a total transaction of $1,916,650.15. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,184,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $142,733,745.05. This trade represents a 1.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 Essent Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.51, for a total transaction of $349,305.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 35,494 shares in the company, valued at $2,254,223.94. This represents a 13.42% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 39,837 shares of company stock valued at $2,591,612 over the last three months. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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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