13,645 Shares in Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT Purchased by AXQ Capital LP

AXQ Capital LP purchased a new stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 13,645 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $867,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Essent Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $346,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in shares of Essent Group by 3.7% during the second quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 12,967 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $787,000 after buying an additional 457 shares during the period. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new position in Essent Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $283,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in Essent Group by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 362,490 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,013,000 after buying an additional 15,326 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its position in Essent Group by 187.2% in the 2nd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 41,872 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,543,000 after acquiring an additional 27,295 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Stock Performance

Essent Group stock opened at $59.12 on Tuesday. Essent Group Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $51.61 and a fifty-two week high of $67.09. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $63.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $62.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The company has a market cap of $5.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90.

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

Essent Group Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Essent Group

In related news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 4,352 shares of the company’s 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 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. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ESNT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Essent Group from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Essent Group in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on shares of Essent Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus 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.