Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 66,289 Shares of Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans trimmed its stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 41.2% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 94,716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 66,289 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Essent Group were worth $5,752,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Essent Group by 1,765.2% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 429 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Essent Group by 160.0% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,080 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $126,000 after buying an additional 1,280 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Essent Group by 20.6% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,268 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $131,000 after acquiring an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Essent Group by 623.2% in the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $169,000 after acquiring an additional 2,393 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 863.3% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,832 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $172,000 after acquiring an additional 2,538 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Price Performance

Shares of ESNT stock opened at $66.20 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $61.85 and its 200 day moving average is $60.90. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1-year low of $51.61 and a 1-year high of $67.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.68. The company has a market cap of $6.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.64, a PEG ratio of 4.44 and a beta of 0.90.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $311.83 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $316.84 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 55.63% and a return on equity of 12.40%. The company’s revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.65 EPS. Research analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Essent Group’s payout ratio is currently 18.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essent Group

In related news, Director Roy James Kasmar sold 3,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total value of $199,680.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 23,573 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,448,325.12. This represents a 12.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Essent Group from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays boosted their target price on Essent Group from $59.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “cautious” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $66.67.

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.