Intech Investment Management LLC Has $3.78 Million Stake in Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT

Intech Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 64.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 58,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 107,505 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $3,775,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 45.5% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 624 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 97.1% during the fourth 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, Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group during the third quarter worth approximately $57,000. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essent Group Trading Down 2.0%

ESNT opened at $56.75 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $60.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market cap of $5.23 billion, a PE ratio of 8.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.81. Essent Group Ltd. has a twelve month low of $55.22 and a twelve month high of $67.09.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $336.07 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $297.56 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 53.64% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.69 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.25 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essent Group

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on ESNT shares. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $68.00 target price on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Essent Group from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.86.

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.