Vest Financial LLC Sells 9,062 Shares of Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT

Vest Financial LLC decreased its position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 17.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 44,164 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,062 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $2,807,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Essent Group by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 3,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $212,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. Inspire Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 11,830 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $752,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Essent Group by 27.8% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 947 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 1.2% in the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 21,801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,324,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Essent Group by 12.5% in the 2nd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,552 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $155,000 after buying an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essent Group Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of ESNT opened at $62.31 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $63.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.59. Essent Group Ltd. has a 12 month low of $51.61 and a 12 month high of $67.09. The firm has a market cap of $6.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.07, a PEG ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

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

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Essent Group from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Essent Group in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on Essent Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Essent Group from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essent Group

In other news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 4,352 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 18th. The stock was 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 $15,939,032. The trade was a 1.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Roy James Kasmar sold 3,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 14th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $1,448,325.12. The trade was a 12.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 2.90% of the stock is 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.