Quantbot Technologies LP Acquires 14,313 Shares of Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT

Quantbot Technologies LP raised its stake in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 124.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 25,784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,313 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $1,639,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Essent Group by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 3,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $212,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Essent Group by 45.5% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 624 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. Inspire Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 1.7% in the third quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 11,830 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $752,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 27.8% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 947 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the period. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its stake in Essent Group by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 51,945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,302,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Stock Up 0.1%

ESNT stock opened at $60.28 on Thursday. Essent Group Ltd. has a twelve month low of $51.61 and a twelve month high of $67.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a market cap of $5.70 billion, a PE ratio of 8.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.91. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $62.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.50.

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

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This is an increase from Essent Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on ESNT. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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 increased their target price on Essent Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Essent Group from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Essent Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Five 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 “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.33.

Insider Transactions at Essent Group

In other news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 4,352 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total transaction of $291,584.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 237,896 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,939,032. The trade was a 1.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.