Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Short Interest Down 13.3% in January

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 1,691,860 shares, a decrease of 13.3% from the January 15th total of 1,950,331 shares. Approximately 1.8% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 740,623 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.3 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 740,623 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.3 days. Approximately 1.8% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ESNT has been the topic of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Essent Group from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Essent Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 4,352 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total value of $291,584.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 237,896 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,939,032. This represents a 1.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 3.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ESNT. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the third quarter worth $1,398,000. Cooke & Bieler LP grew its position in Essent Group by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,938,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $123,223,000 after purchasing an additional 318,318 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 531.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 25,157 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,599,000 after purchasing an additional 21,171 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 184.8% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 343,101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,837,000 after purchasing an additional 222,613 shares during the period. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 16.6% in the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 422,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,875,000 after buying an additional 60,335 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Stock Up 0.5%

ESNT traded up $0.31 on Tuesday, reaching $61.73. 42,308 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 685,432. The company has a market cap of $5.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.92, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.68. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $63.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.45. Essent Group has a 52-week low of $51.61 and a 52-week high of $67.09.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 13th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by ($0.14). Essent Group had a net margin of 54.72% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The company had revenue of $312.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $312.62 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.58 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Essent Group will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. 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 currently 18.00%.

About Essent Group

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.