JPMorgan Chase & Co. Reduces Position in Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT

JPMorgan Chase & Co. trimmed its holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 33.9% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 679,469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 347,960 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $43,187,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Essent Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new stake in Essent Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Essent Group by 45.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 624 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $57,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position 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. 93.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ESNT shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Essent Group from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Roth Mkm raised their target price on Essent Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Barclays reduced their price target on Essent Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $68.43.

Essent Group Stock Down 1.3%

ESNT stock opened at $57.12 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.40 billion, a PE ratio of 8.29, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.20. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $61.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.12. Essent Group Ltd. has a one year low of $51.61 and a one year high of $67.09.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued 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 business had revenue of $312.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $312.62 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 54.72%.The company’s revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.58 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. This is a boost from Essent Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.32%.

About Essent Group

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.