Fairman Group LLC Has $4.55 Million Stake in Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT

Fairman Group LLC decreased its position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 12.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 77,921 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 11,000 shares during the period. Essent Group accounts for about 3.9% of Fairman Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Fairman Group LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Essent Group worth $4,554,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ESNT. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Essent Group by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 4,832 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $302,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $211,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 16,584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,078,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the period. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Essent Group by 26.4% during the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,162 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP grew its position in shares of Essent Group by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 38,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,499,000 after buying an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ESNT has been the topic of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Essent Group from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of Essent Group in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Essent Group from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $66.57.

Essent Group Price Performance

ESNT opened at $64.28 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.92 billion, a PE ratio of 9.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.32. The business’s 50-day moving average is $60.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.31. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1 year low of $55.22 and a 1 year high of $67.09.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.14. Essent Group had a net margin of 53.64% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The business had revenue of $336.07 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $297.56 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.69 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. Essent Group’s payout ratio is currently 19.94%.

Insider Transactions at Essent Group

In related news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 7,628 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.01, for a total transaction of $480,640.28. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 237,586 shares in the company, valued at $14,970,293.86. The trade was a 3.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 5,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.51, for a total value of $349,305.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 35,494 shares in the company, valued at $2,254,223.94. This represents a 13.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 31,314 shares of company stock valued at $2,010,987. Corporate insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

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.