Walleye Capital LLC Sells 192,859 Shares of Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT

Walleye Capital LLC cut its holdings in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 50.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 186,408 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 192,859 shares during the period. Walleye Capital LLC owned 0.20% of Essent Group worth $10,894,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in Essent Group in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new position in Essent Group in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Essent Group in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in Essent Group by 97.1% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 676 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 111.8% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 879 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ESNT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $68.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Essent Group from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Roth Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Essent Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Essent Group from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essent Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $67.71.

Insider Activity at Essent Group

In other news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 35,494 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,254,223.94. This represents a 13.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark Casale sold 29,329 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.35, for a total value of $1,916,650.15. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,184,143 shares of the company's stock, valued at $142,733,745.05. The trade was a 1.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 57,151 shares of company stock valued at $3,717,718 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.60% of the company's stock.

Essent Group Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of Essent Group stock opened at $65.01 on Thursday. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1 year low of $55.34 and a 1 year high of $67.46. The firm has a market cap of $5.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.26, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a 50-day moving average of $61.33 and a 200 day moving average of $61.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.32.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.14. Essent Group had a net margin of 53.64% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The business had revenue of $336.07 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $297.56 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.69 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 19.94%.

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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