Bank of New York Mellon Corp Invests $41.04 Million in Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT

Key Points

• Bank of New York Mellon acquired 638,465 Essent Group shares worth approximately $41.04 million, representing about 0.69% of the company. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 93% of ESNT.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: three analysts rate the stock a Buy and five rate it a Hold, producing an overall “Hold” rating and an average price target of $71.86.
• Essent reported quarterly EPS of $2.08 on $362.69 million in revenue and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.35, or $1.40 annually, yielding about 2.0%.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 638,465 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $41,041,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 0.69% of Essent Group as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Essent Group by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,987,945 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $779,336,000 after acquiring an additional 85,295 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Essent Group by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,076,950 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $206,628,000 after acquiring an additional 129,672 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $155,516,000. Cooke & Bieler LP lifted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,952,006 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $126,900,000 after purchasing an additional 13,318 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Essent Group by 43.7% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,864,067 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $121,183,000 after purchasing an additional 567,103 shares in the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on ESNT shares. Weiss Ratings raised Essent Group from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Roth Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Essent Group from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Essent Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Essent Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $71.86.

Insider Transactions at Essent Group

In related news, CEO Mark Casale sold 21,607 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.07, for a total value of $1,514,002.49. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,039,691 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $142,921,148.37. This trade represents a 1.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Vijay Bhasin sold 14,175 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $992,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 184,274 shares in the company, valued at $12,899,180. This represents a 7.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 98,848 shares of company stock valued at $6,726,789. Corporate insiders own 3.60% of the company's stock.

Essent Group Stock Down 0.4%

ESNT opened at $68.99 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market cap of $6.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.62, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.76. Essent Group Ltd. has a twelve month low of $55.34 and a twelve month high of $70.37. The company's 50-day moving average price is $66.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.20.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $362.69 million during the quarter. Essent Group had a net margin of 51.45% and a return on equity of 11.91%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.53%.

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.

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