Intech Investment Management LLC Sells 98,207 Shares of Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT

Intech Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 37.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 165,577 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 98,207 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $10,524,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in Essent Group by 1,765.2% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 429 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Essent Group by 27.8% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 947 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC increased its stake in shares of Essent Group by 882.0% during the third quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 2,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $128,000 after buying an additional 1,808 shares during the period. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $132,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 160.0% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,080 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $126,000 after acquiring an additional 1,280 shares in the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Essent Group news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 4,352 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total transaction of $291,584.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 237,896 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,939,032. The trade was a 1.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Essent Group Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of Essent Group stock opened at $61.26 on Friday. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1 year low of $51.61 and a 1 year high of $67.09. The firm has a market cap of $5.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.89, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a 50-day moving average of $63.09 and a 200 day moving average of $62.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.20.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 13th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by ($0.14). Essent Group had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 54.72%.The business had revenue of $312.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $312.62 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.58 EPS. Essent Group’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This is an increase from Essent Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on ESNT. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Essent Group from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Roth Mkm upped their target price on Essent Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.33.

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.