Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT Stock Holdings Lessened by Fairman Group LLC

Fairman Group LLC cut its stake in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 19.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 98,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 24,000 shares during the period. Essent Group comprises approximately 5.0% of Fairman Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Fairman Group LLC owned 0.10% of Essent Group worth $6,231,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Essent Group in the second quarter worth $75,596,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Essent Group by 78.9% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,517,859 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $92,180,000 after purchasing an additional 669,577 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 152.3% in the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 455,819 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,682,000 after buying an additional 275,149 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in Essent Group by 184.8% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 343,101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,837,000 after buying an additional 222,613 shares during the period. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new stake in Essent Group during the second quarter worth about $12,712,000. Institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Stock Performance

NYSE:ESNT opened at $60.87 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $5.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.86, a PEG ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $63.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $61.61. Essent Group Ltd. has a twelve month low of $51.61 and a twelve month high of $67.09.

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

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is 18.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on ESNT. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on Essent Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Barclays dropped their price target on 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. lifted their price objective on Essent Group from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Essent Group from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.29.

Insider Transactions at Essent Group

In other Essent Group news, Director Roy James Kasmar sold 3,250 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 237,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,939,032. The trade was a 1.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

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.