Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT Shares Sold by Rhumbline Advisers

Rhumbline Advisers decreased its holdings in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 5.6% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 347,583 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 20,532 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers’ holdings in Essent Group were worth $22,092,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ESNT. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group in the third quarter worth about $1,398,000. Cooke & Bieler LP increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 318,318 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in 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 buying an additional 21,171 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in 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 valued at $20,837,000 after acquiring an additional 222,613 shares during the period. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 422,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,875,000 after acquiring an additional 60,335 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Trading Down 6.3%

ESNT stock opened at $61.52 on Tuesday. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52-week low of $51.61 and a 52-week high of $67.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm has a market cap of $5.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.93, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.90. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $63.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $62.45.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 13th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.74 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $312.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $312.62 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 54.72% and a return on equity of 12.09%. Essent Group’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.58 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Essent Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on ESNT shares. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Essent Group from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Essent Group from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Roth Mkm upped their target price on Essent Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Essent Group from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.29.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 4,352 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $15,939,032. This trade represents a 1.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 3.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.