Vest Financial LLC Trims Stake in Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT

Vest Financial LLC reduced its stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 17.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 44,164 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,062 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $2,807,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $346,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Essent Group by 169.6% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,499 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $959,000 after purchasing an additional 9,751 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in Essent Group by 863.3% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,832 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $172,000 after purchasing an additional 2,538 shares during the period. Fairvoy Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Essent Group by 1.9% in the second quarter. Fairvoy Private Wealth LLC now owns 43,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,654,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 111 Capital purchased a new position in Essent Group during the second quarter valued at $238,000. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ESNT. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Essent Group from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Essent Group from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.29.

Essent Group Price Performance

Shares of ESNT opened at $62.31 on Friday. Essent Group Ltd. has a twelve month low of $51.61 and a twelve month high of $67.09. The company 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $63.28 and a 200 day moving average of $61.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

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

Essent Group Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Essent Group

In other Essent Group news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 4,352 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 18th. The shares were 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 approximately $15,939,032. This represents a 1.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Roy James Kasmar sold 3,250 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total transaction of $199,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 23,573 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,448,325.12. This represents a 12.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by 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.