430,449 Shares in Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT Purchased by William Blair Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• William Blair Investment Management opened a new position in Essent Group, buying 430,449 shares worth about $28.0 million and owning roughly 0.45% of the company.
• Essent Group reported strong quarterly earnings, posting $1.82 EPS versus $1.68 expected and revenue of $336.07 million, which topped analyst estimates and rose 5.8% year over year.
• The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, implying an annualized yield of about 2.3%, while analysts overall currently rate the stock a Hold with an average target price of $67.86.

William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 430,449 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $27,983,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned about 0.45% of Essent Group as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in ESNT. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $346,000. M&T Bank Corp bought a new position in Essent Group during the second quarter valued at about $239,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased 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 valued at $126,000 after acquiring an additional 1,280 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Essent Group during the second quarter valued at about $211,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in Essent Group during the second quarter valued at about $224,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ESNT has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays boosted their price target on Essent Group from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on Essent Group in a research note on Friday. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $68.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group lowered their price target on Essent Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Essent Group from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $67.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Mark Casale sold 13,064 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.05, for a total transaction of $849,813.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,218,480 shares in the company, valued at $144,312,124. This represents a 0.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 4,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.01, for a total value of $276,292.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 233,336 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,169,173.36. This trade represents a 1.79% 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 25,814 shares of company stock worth $1,661,682. 3.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Essent Group Trading Up 0.2%

ESNT stock opened at $60.90 on Tuesday. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1-year low of $55.22 and a 1-year high of $67.09. The firm has a market cap of $5.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.81. The business's 50 day moving average is $60.53 and its 200-day moving average is $61.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.14. Essent Group had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 53.64%.The company had revenue of $336.07 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $297.56 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.69 EPS. The company's revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio is 19.94%.

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.

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