Victory Capital Management Inc. Lowers Holdings in Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT

Victory Capital Management Inc. reduced its position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 998,504 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 20,264 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 1.03% of Essent Group worth $63,465,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC increased its position in Essent Group by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 4,832 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $302,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 25.4% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 978,928 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,221,000 after purchasing an additional 198,370 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its holdings in Essent Group by 124.8% during the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 25,784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,639,000 after buying an additional 14,313 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in Essent Group by 23.7% during the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 26,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,658,000 after buying an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Finally, AXQ Capital LP bought a new position in Essent Group in the third quarter worth approximately $867,000. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Essent Group Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of ESNT stock opened at $59.55 on Friday. Essent Group Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $51.61 and a fifty-two week high of $67.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.63 billion, a PE ratio of 8.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.20. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $62.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $62.48.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued 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). Essent Group had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 54.72%.The business had revenue of $312.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $312.62 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.58 EPS. Essent Group’s quarterly revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This is a boost from Essent Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Essent Group’s payout ratio is presently 18.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ESNT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Essent Group from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Barclays cut their target price on Essent Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essent Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Essent Group news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 4,352 shares of the 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 237,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,939,032. This trade represents a 1.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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.