Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Short Interest Down 25.3% in December

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,353,395 shares, a decrease of 25.3% from the December 15th total of 1,811,967 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 675,980 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days. Approximately 1.4% of the company’s shares are short sold. Approximately 1.4% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 675,980 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ESNT. Roth Capital upped their target price on shares of Essent Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Essent Group in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Essent Group from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Essent Group from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.29.

Essent Group Price Performance

NYSE:ESNT traded down $0.19 on Friday, reaching $60.94. 1,185,805 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 625,235. The firm has a market cap of $5.89 billion, a PE ratio of 8.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $63.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.60. Essent Group has a 12 month low of $51.61 and a 12 month high of $67.09.

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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $316.84 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 12.40% and a net margin of 55.63%.Essent Group’s quarterly revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.65 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Essent Group will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. Essent Group’s payout ratio is presently 18.05%.

Insider Transactions at Essent Group

In other Essent Group news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 4,352 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total transaction of $291,584.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 237,896 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,939,032. This represents a 1.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Roy James Kasmar sold 3,250 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total transaction of $199,680.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 23,573 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,448,325.12. This represents a 12.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 2.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Essent Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Essent Group in the second quarter valued at $75,596,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 78.9% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,517,859 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $92,180,000 after buying an additional 669,577 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 45.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,198,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $76,173,000 after purchasing an additional 372,881 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP lifted its stake in Essent Group by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,938,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $123,223,000 after buying an additional 318,318 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 152.3% during the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 455,819 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,682,000 after acquiring an additional 275,149 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

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.