Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT Shares Sold by Citigroup Inc.

Citigroup Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 45.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 41,213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 34,823 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $2,619,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ESNT. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 1,765.2% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 429 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 27.8% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 947 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings 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. Rothschild Investment LLC increased its stake in Essent Group by 882.0% during the 3rd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 2,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $128,000 after buying an additional 1,808 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in Essent Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $132,000. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essent Group Trading Down 0.5%

ESNT opened at $59.20 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52 week low of $51.61 and a 52 week high of $67.09. The business’s 50 day moving average is $62.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.47. The firm has a market cap of $5.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.91.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 13th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.74 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $312.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $312.62 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 54.72% and a return on equity of 12.09%. Essent Group’s revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.58 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This is an increase from Essent Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Essent Group’s payout ratio is 18.00%.

Insider Transactions at Essent Group

In other Essent Group news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 4,352 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total value of $291,584.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 237,896 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,939,032. The trade was a 1.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ESNT has been the subject of several recent research reports. 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Essent Group from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Essent Group from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Roth Mkm upped their price target on Essent Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essent Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.33.

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.