128,622 Shares in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Purchased by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Posted by Defense World Staff on Feb 26th, 2023

Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT – Get Rating) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 128,622 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,526,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned about 0.12% of Essent Group at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ESNT. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Essent Group by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 8,781,249 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $361,875,000 after buying an additional 815,259 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,590,130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $436,419,000 after purchasing an additional 411,585 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 504.5% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 374,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,580,000 after purchasing an additional 312,800 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,375,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $180,327,000 after purchasing an additional 286,764 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 26.1% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,213,647 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,210,000 after purchasing an additional 251,117 shares during the last quarter. 92.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essent Group

In other Essent Group news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 1,072 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $48,240.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 247,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,128,185. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 1,072 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $48,240.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 247,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,128,185. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.49, for a total value of $108,725.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 26,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,155,746.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Essent Group Stock Performance

ESNT opened at $42.89 on Friday. Essent Group Ltd. has a one year low of $34.27 and a one year high of $45.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.64 billion, a PE ratio of 5.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.18. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $41.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.56.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 10th. The financial services provider reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by ($0.22). The firm had revenue of $230.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $245.56 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 83.07% and a return on equity of 19.28%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.64 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 10th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This is a positive change from Essent Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 9th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. Essent Group’s payout ratio is presently 12.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ESNT shares. StockNews.com cut Essent Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 13th. BTIG Research lowered their target price on Essent Group from $54.00 to $45.00 in a report on Friday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Essent Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Essent Group from $53.00 to $50.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 10th. Finally, Roth Capital reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Monday, February 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essent Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.20.

About Essent Group

(Get Rating)

Essent Group Ltd. is a holding company, which engages in the provision of banking services. It offers mortgage insurance, reinsurance, and risk management products. The company was founded by Mark A. Casale on July 1, 2008 and is headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda.