Sei Investments Co. Increases Holdings in Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT

Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 27.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 177,889 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 38,169 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $10,396,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ESNT. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Essent Group by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Essent Group by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 16,584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Essent Group by 26.4% in the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,162 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP grew its holdings in Essent Group by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 38,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,499,000 after buying an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in Essent Group by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 21,801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,324,000 after buying an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Stock Performance

NYSE ESNT opened at $66.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.32. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1-year low of $55.34 and a 1-year high of $68.62. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.08 billion, a PE ratio of 9.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.76.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $336.07 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $297.56 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 53.64%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.69 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. Essent Group’s payout ratio is currently 19.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Essent Group news, CEO Mark Casale sold 29,329 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.35, for a total value of $1,916,650.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,184,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $142,733,745.05. This trade represents a 1.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 5,500 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.51, for a total transaction of $349,305.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 35,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,254,223.94. The trade was a 13.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 39,837 shares of company stock worth $2,591,612. 3.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Roth Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Essent Group from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Essent Group from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $68.00 price target on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Essent Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.71.

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.