Tudor Investment Corp ET AL Buys 76,855 Shares of Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT

Tudor Investment Corp ET AL grew its stake in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 21.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 437,890 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 76,855 shares during the period. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $27,832,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Essent Group during the 2nd quarter worth $75,596,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Essent Group by 78.9% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,517,859 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $92,180,000 after buying an additional 669,577 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Essent Group by 45.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,198,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $76,173,000 after buying an additional 372,881 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP raised its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 19.6% in 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 acquiring an additional 318,318 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its holdings 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 valued at $27,682,000 after acquiring an additional 275,149 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Stock Performance

Shares of ESNT stock opened at $57.88 on Friday. Essent Group Ltd. has a 12-month low of $51.61 and a 12-month high of $67.09. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $61.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $62.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a market cap of $5.47 billion, a PE ratio of 8.40, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.91.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last posted 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 analyst estimates of $312.62 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.58 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This is an increase from Essent Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Essent Group’s payout ratio is 20.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on ESNT. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. UBS Group lowered 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. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on Essent Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Essent Group from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Essent Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $68.43.

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.