Vanguard Group Inc. Increases Stake in Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT

Key Points

• Vanguard increased its stake in Essent by 0.7% in Q4 to 11,987,945 shares (12.40% ownership) valued at about $779.3 million, and institutional investors now hold roughly 93% of the stock.
• Analysts are mostly cautious — the consensus rating is "Hold" with an average price target of $67.86 after several firms (UBS, JPMorgan, Barclays) trimmed targets while Goldman Sachs remains neutral at $70.
• Key company/market signals: Q4 EPS missed estimates ($1.60 vs. $1.74) with revenue roughly flat, the quarterly dividend was raised to $0.35 (annual $1.40, ~2.3% yield), and insiders sold about 25,814 shares (~$1.66M) under Rule 10b5‑1 plans (insiders own 3.6%).

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,987,945 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 85,295 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 12.40% of Essent Group worth $779,336,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the third quarter valued at $1,398,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL lifted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 21.3% during the third quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 437,890 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,832,000 after purchasing an additional 76,855 shares during the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP lifted 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 valued at $123,223,000 after purchasing an additional 318,318 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 16.6% during the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 422,825 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,875,000 after purchasing an additional 60,335 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC lifted 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 valued at $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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group reduced their target price on Essent Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Essent Group from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Barclays reduced their target price on Essent Group from $63.00 to $61.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Essent Group in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $67.86.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 4,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.01, for a total value of $276,292.50. Following the completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 value of $849,813.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,218,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $144,312,124. The trade was a 0.59% 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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 25,814 shares of company stock valued at $1,661,682. Company insiders own 3.60% of the company's stock.

Essent Group Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of Essent Group stock opened at $60.03 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $60.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.71. The company has a market cap of $5.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1 year low of $55.22 and a 1 year high of $67.09.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.74 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $312.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $312.62 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 54.72%.The firm's revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.58 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. This is an increase from Essent Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.32%.

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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