Capital Research Global Investors Has $23.62 Million Stake in Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT

Capital Research Global Investors trimmed its position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 70.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 363,372 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 863,827 shares during the quarter. Capital Research Global Investors’ holdings in Essent Group were worth $23,623,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of ESNT. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group in the second quarter valued at $346,000. M&T Bank Corp acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group in the second quarter valued at $239,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Essent Group by 160.0% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,080 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 1,280 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group in the second quarter valued at $211,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group in the second quarter valued at $224,000. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on ESNT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Essent Group from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings lowered Essent Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on Essent Group in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $68.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Essent Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $73.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on Essent Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $66.43.

Essent Group Stock Performance

Essent Group stock opened at $57.83 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.32. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $60.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $61.53. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52-week low of $55.22 and a 52-week high of $67.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.78.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last released 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. Essent Group had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 53.64%.The firm had revenue of $336.07 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $297.56 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.69 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 4,250 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.01, for a total value of $276,292.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 233,336 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,169,173.36. The trade was a 1.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark Casale sold 13,064 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.05, for a total transaction of $849,813.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,218,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $144,312,124. This trade represents a 0.59% decrease in their position. 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 25,814 shares of company stock valued at $1,661,682. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Essent Group Company 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.