UBS Group AG Trims Holdings in Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT

Key Points

• UBS Group AG cut its Essent Group stake by 43.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 234,018 shares and ending with 303,473 shares valued at about $19.7 million.
• Essent Group reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $1.82 versus $1.68 expected and revenue of $336.07 million versus $297.56 million forecast.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, payable June 10, which works out to a 2.3% annualized yield; analysts currently have a consensus Hold rating with a target price of $68.00.

UBS Group AG reduced its position in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 43.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 303,473 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 234,018 shares during the period. UBS Group AG owned 0.31% of Essent Group worth $19,729,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Essent Group during the third quarter worth approximately $1,398,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Essent Group by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,987,945 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $779,336,000 after acquiring an additional 85,295 shares during the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL lifted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 21.3% during the 3rd quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 437,890 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,832,000 after purchasing an additional 76,855 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP boosted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 19.6% during the third quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,938,688 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $123,223,000 after purchasing an additional 318,318 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 132.2% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 42,396 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,756,000 after purchasing an additional 24,139 shares during the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essent Group Stock Down 2.7%

Shares of ESNT opened at $61.42 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.77 billion, a PE ratio of 8.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.81. The company's fifty day moving average is $60.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.78. Essent Group Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $55.22 and a fifty-two week high of $67.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $336.07 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $297.56 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 53.64%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.69 EPS. Analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 19.94%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Mark Casale sold 13,064 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.05, for a total value of $849,813.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,218,480 shares in the company, valued at $144,312,124. This trade represents a 0.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 4,250 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.01, for a total value of $276,292.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 233,336 shares in the company, valued at $15,169,173.36. This represents a 1.79% 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 have sold 25,814 shares of company stock valued at $1,661,682 over the last 90 days. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group dropped their target price on Essent Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Essent Group from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Essent Group from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $68.00.

Essent Group Company 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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