Fairman Group LLC Lowers Stake in Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT

Fairman Group LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 19.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 98,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 24,000 shares during the quarter. Essent Group accounts for 5.0% of Fairman Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Fairman Group LLC’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $6,231,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ESNT. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Essent Group by 1,765.2% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 429 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 406 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake 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 worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 160.0% during 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 during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Essent Group by 21.9% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,250 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $143,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its position in Essent Group by 409.9% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,534 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $161,000 after purchasing an additional 2,037 shares during the period. 93.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essent Group

In other Essent Group news, Director Roy James Kasmar sold 3,250 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director owned 23,573 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,448,325.12. This trade represents a 12.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 4,352 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total transaction of $291,584.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 237,896 shares in the company, valued at $15,939,032. This represents a 1.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Price Performance

Shares of Essent Group stock opened at $60.87 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.88 billion, a price-to-earnings 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $63.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.61. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52 week low of $51.61 and a 52 week high of $67.09.

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

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. Essent Group’s payout ratio is currently 18.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ESNT shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Essent Group from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Roth Mkm increased their target price on Essent Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Essent Group from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Five equities 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 presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.29.

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.