Susquehanna International Group LLP Trims Stock Position in Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT

Susquehanna International Group LLP cut its holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 24.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 42,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 13,648 shares during the quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $2,702,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Essent Group by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,987,945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $779,336,000 after purchasing an additional 85,295 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the fourth quarter worth about $27,983,000. Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,485,000. Renaissancere Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $107,114,521. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Essent Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,136,000. 93.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays boosted their price target on Essent Group from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. 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 note on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Essent Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Essent Group from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Roth Capital upped their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Essent Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $71.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essent Group

In related news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 2,500 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.70, for a total transaction of $174,250.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 30,154 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,101,733.80. The trade was a 7.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Mark Casale sold 21,607 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.07, for a total transaction 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 approximately $142,921,148.37. This trade represents a 1.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 98,848 shares of company stock valued at $6,726,789 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Stock Performance

Essent Group stock opened at $68.99 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $6.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.76. Essent Group Ltd. has a 12 month low of $55.34 and a 12 month high of $70.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $66.10 and its 200-day moving average is $62.19.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $362.69 million during the quarter. Essent Group had a return on equity of 11.91% and a net margin of 51.45%. Equities analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

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

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.