SG Americas Securities LLC Sells 44,826 Shares of Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT

SG Americas Securities LLC trimmed its position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 82.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,517 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 44,826 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $605,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ESNT. 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 worth $26,000 after buying an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings 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 worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Essent Group by 160.0% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,080 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $126,000 after acquiring an additional 1,280 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Essent Group by 21.9% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,250 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $143,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Essent Group by 12.5% in the second quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,552 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $155,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares during the period. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Essent Group Stock Performance

NYSE:ESNT opened at $62.31 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1 year low of $51.61 and a 1 year high of $67.09. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $63.28 and a 200-day moving average of $61.59.

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

Essent Group Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ESNT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Essent Group from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Barclays dropped their target price on Essent Group from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Roth Mkm raised their target price on Essent Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Essent Group from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 4,352 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 237,896 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,939,032. This trade represents a 1.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Roy James Kasmar sold 3,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total transaction of $199,680.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 23,573 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,448,325.12. This trade represents a 12.12% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

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.