Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT Shares Acquired by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Posted by George Bondi on Nov 11th, 2026

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT – Free Report) by 18.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 709,273 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 109,494 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $41,074,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in Essent Group by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,018 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $175,000 after acquiring an additional 358 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Essent Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $998,000. Vise Technologies Inc. raised its holdings in Essent Group by 27.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 14,012 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $811,000 after acquiring an additional 2,983 shares during the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al raised its holdings in Essent Group by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 199,179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,534,000 after acquiring an additional 16,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group during the 3rd quarter worth $305,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ESNT has been the topic of several analyst reports. BTIG Research started coverage on Essent Group in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised Essent Group from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Essent Group from $72.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Essent Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 31st. Finally, Roth Capital increased their target price on Essent Group from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essent Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $70.62.

View Our Latest Stock Report on Essent Group

Insider Buying and Selling at Essent Group

In other news, CFO David Weinstock sold 5,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.54, for a total transaction of $376,970.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 29,994 shares in the company, valued at $2,055,788.76. This represents a 15.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Roy Kasmar sold 4,837 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.71, for a total value of $332,350.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 21,361 shares in the company, valued at $1,467,714.31. This trade represents a 18.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 118,705 shares of company stock worth $8,352,951. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Essent Group Price Performance

Essent Group stock opened at $64.61 on Wednesday. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1 year low of $55.34 and a 1 year high of $71.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.05. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $65.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.13. The company has a market cap of $5.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.83, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.71.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $374.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $344.17 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 11.99% and a net margin of 49.08%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.67 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 1st. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Essent Group’s payout ratio is currently 19.13%.

More Essent Group News

Here are the key news stories impacting Essent Group this week:

Positive Sentiment: Third-quarter revenue of $374.18 million exceeded analysts’ $344.17 million estimate. Insurance in force reached $250 billion, up 1% year over year, and net income was $163 million. Essent: 3 Key Takeaways for Long-Term Investors
Neutral Sentiment: CEO Mark Casale sold 49,042 shares for about $3.49 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. He retained nearly 1.99 million shares, making the sale less informative as a signal of his outlook. Insider Selling: Essent Group CEO Sells Shares
Negative Sentiment: Barclays lowered its price target to $65 from $66 and maintained an “equal weight” rating, signaling limited expected upside. Essent Group Given New $65 Price Target at Barclays
Negative Sentiment: Quarterly EPS was $1.82, slightly below the $1.85 consensus estimate, tempering the positive revenue result.

Essent Group Company Profile

(Free Report)

Essent Group is a Bermuda-based provider of mortgage insurance and reinsurance, operating primarily in the United States. Its services help mortgage lenders manage the credit risk associated with residential home loans. Through its U.S. mortgage insurance subsidiary, Essent Guaranty, the company provides private mortgage insurance for eligible borrowers who make smaller down payments on conventional mortgages. The coverage can help lenders reduce potential losses if a borrower defaults. Essent also provides mortgage reinsurance through its reinsurance operations.