Odyssean LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT

Odyssean LLC grew its position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 102.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 50,922 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 25,762 shares during the period. Essent Group accounts for about 0.5% of Odyssean LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Odyssean LLC’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $3,273,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Essent Group by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $211,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Essent Group by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 16,584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,078,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Essent Group by 26.4% in the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,162 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP grew its holdings in Essent Group by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 38,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,499,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in Essent Group by 1.2% in the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 21,801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,324,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Essent Group

In other news, SVP Vijay Bhasin sold 14,175 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $992,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 184,274 shares in the company, valued at $12,899,180. This trade represents a 7.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark Casale sold 21,607 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.07, for a total value of $1,514,002.49. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,039,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $142,921,148.37. This trade represents a 1.05% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 98,848 shares of company stock worth $6,726,789 in the last 90 days. 3.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Essent Group Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE:ESNT opened at $69.09 on Wednesday. Essent Group Ltd. has a 12 month low of $55.34 and a 12 month high of $70.37. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $62.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a market capitalization of $6.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.64, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.76.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter. Essent Group had a net margin of 51.45% and a return on equity of 11.91%. The firm had revenue of $362.69 million for the quarter. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Essent Group’s payout ratio is currently 19.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ESNT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays upped their price target on Essent Group from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Essent Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Essent Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Essent Group from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Essent Group from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Essent Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.86.

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.