Intech Investment Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT

Intech Investment Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 37.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 165,577 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 98,207 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.17% of Essent Group worth $10,524,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Essent Group news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 4,352 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total value of $291,584.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESNT opened at $61.26 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market cap of $5.79 billion, a PE ratio of 8.89, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.90. The company’s fifty day moving average is $63.09 and its 200 day moving average is $62.54. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52 week low of $51.61 and a 52 week high of $67.09.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $312.62 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.58 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on ESNT shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price 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. Roth Mkm raised their price target on Essent Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Essent Group from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Essent Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.33.

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.