Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,353,395 shares, a drop of 25.3% from the December 15th total of 1,811,967 shares. Currently, 1.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 675,980 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days. Based on an average trading volume of 675,980 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days. Currently, 1.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Roth Capital upped their target price 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Essent Group from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.29.

Insider Transactions at Essent Group

In related news, Director Roy James Kasmar sold 3,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total value of $199,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 23,573 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,448,325.12. This represents a 12.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 4,352 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total transaction of $291,584.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 237,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,939,032. This represents a 1.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Essent Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Cooke & Bieler LP boosted its position in shares of Essent Group by 19.6% during the third quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,938,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $123,223,000 after buying an additional 318,318 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Essent Group by 78.9% during the second 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 during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Essent Group during the second quarter worth $75,596,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Essent Group by 45.2% in 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 acquiring an additional 372,881 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Essent Group by 3.4% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,116,784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $70,983,000 after acquiring an additional 36,586 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Trading Down 0.3%

Essent Group stock traded down $0.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $60.94. The stock had a trading volume of 1,185,805 shares, compared to its average volume of 625,235. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $63.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.89 billion, a PE ratio of 8.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.90. Essent Group has a 12 month low of $51.61 and a 12 month high of $67.09.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by ($0.08). Essent Group had a net margin of 55.63% and a return on equity of 12.40%. The business had revenue of $311.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $316.84 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.65 earnings per share. Essent Group’s revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Essent Group will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.05%.

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.