Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT Holdings Increased by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its position in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 18.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 709,273 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 109,494 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned 0.79% of Essent Group worth $41,074,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESNT. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in Essent Group by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,018 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $175,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $998,000. Vise Technologies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 27.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 14,012 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $811,000 after buying an additional 2,983 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al lifted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 199,179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,534,000 after buying an additional 16,700 shares during the period. Finally, Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $305,000. 93.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Essent Group

Here are the key news stories impacting Essent Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Third-quarter revenue of $374.18 million exceeded analysts’ $344.17 million estimate. Insurance in force reached $250 billion, up 1% year over year, and net income was $163 million. Essent: 3 Key Takeaways for Long-Term Investors
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Mark Casale sold 49,042 shares for about $3.49 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. He retained nearly 1.99 million shares, making the sale less informative as a signal of his outlook. Insider Selling: Essent Group CEO Sells Shares
• Negative Sentiment: Barclays lowered its price target to $65 from $66 and maintained an “equal weight” rating, signaling limited expected upside. Essent Group Given New $65 Price Target at Barclays
• Negative Sentiment: Quarterly EPS was $1.82, slightly below the $1.85 consensus estimate, tempering the positive revenue result.

Insider Activity at Essent Group

In other news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 5,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.54, for a total value of $376,970.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 29,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,055,788.76. The trade was a 15.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Vijay Bhasin sold 14,175 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $992,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 184,274 shares in the company, valued at $12,899,180. This represents a 7.14% 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 a total of 118,705 shares of company stock valued at $8,352,951 in the last ninety days. 3.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ESNT shares. Barclays dropped their price objective on Essent Group from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Essent Group from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Essent Group from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. Roth Capital boosted their target price on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $70.62.

Essent Group Stock Performance

Shares of ESNT opened at $64.61 on Wednesday. Essent Group Ltd. has a 12-month low of $55.34 and a 12-month high of $71.84. The stock has a market cap of $5.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.83, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a 50-day moving average of $65.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $63.13.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.03). Essent Group had a net margin of 49.08% and a return on equity of 11.99%. The business had revenue of $374.18 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $344.17 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.67 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 1st. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.13%.

About Essent Group

Essent Group is a Bermuda-based provider of mortgage insurance and reinsurance, operating primarily in the United States. Its services help mortgage lenders manage the credit risk associated with residential home loans. Through its U.S. mortgage insurance subsidiary, Essent Guaranty, the company provides private mortgage insurance for eligible borrowers who make smaller down payments on conventional mortgages. The coverage can help lenders reduce potential losses if a borrower defaults. Essent also provides mortgage reinsurance through its reinsurance operations.