EMG Holdings L.P. Invests $3.51 Million in Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT

EMG Holdings L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 60,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,506,000. Essent Group makes up 0.9% of EMG Holdings L.P.’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ESNT. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of Essent Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Essent Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in Essent Group by 97.1% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 676 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC grew its position in Essent Group by 111.8% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 879 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on ESNT. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Essent Group from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, May 22nd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $68.00 price target on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Essent Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essent Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.71.

Insider Transactions at Essent Group

In other news, CEO Mark Casale sold 29,329 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.35, for a total transaction of $1,916,650.15. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,184,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $142,733,745.05. This trade represents a 1.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 5,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.51, for a total transaction of $349,305.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 35,494 shares in the company, valued at $2,254,223.94. The trade was a 13.42% 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 quarter, insiders have sold 39,837 shares of company stock valued at $2,591,612. Company insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Stock Down 2.4%

NYSE:ESNT opened at $66.50 on Friday. Essent Group Ltd. has a one year low of $55.34 and a one year high of $68.62. 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 company has a market cap of $6.13 billion, a PE ratio of 9.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.76. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $61.32.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $336.07 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $297.56 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 53.64% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The company’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.69 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Essent Group’s payout ratio is presently 19.94%.

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.