California State Teachers Retirement System Has $6.75 Million Position in Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT

Key Points

• California State Teachers Retirement System increased its Essent Group stake by 25.1% in the first quarter, owning 115,549 shares valued at approximately $6.75 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 93% of ESNT.
• Essent Group exceeded quarterly expectations with earnings of $1.82 per share versus the $1.68 consensus, while revenue rose 5.8% year over year to $336.1 million. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, yielding about 2.1% annually.
• Shares opened at $66.42, near the company’s 52-week high, while analysts maintained a consensus “Hold” rating with a $67.71 target price. Several firms raised their price targets, although Essent’s CEO and CFO sold shares under pre-arranged trading plans.

California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 25.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 115,549 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 23,196 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.13% of Essent Group worth $6,753,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the 4th quarter valued at $155,516,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Essent Group by 78.9% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,517,859 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $92,180,000 after buying an additional 669,577 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,983,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Essent Group by 45.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,198,447 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $76,173,000 after acquiring an additional 372,881 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its position in 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 last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essent Group Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE ESNT opened at $66.42 on Thursday. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52-week low of $55.34 and a 52-week high of $68.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.32. The stock has a market cap of $6.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.76. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $62.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.48.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $336.07 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $297.56 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 53.64% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.69 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.24 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ESNT. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $68.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Essent Group from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Essent Group from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Roth Capital reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of Essent Group in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Essent Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $67.71.

Insider Activity at Essent Group

In other news, CEO Mark Casale sold 29,329 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.35, for a total transaction of $1,916,650.15. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,184,143 shares of the company's stock, valued at $142,733,745.05. This represents a 1.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 5,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.51, for a total transaction of $349,305.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 35,494 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,254,223.94. The trade was a 13.42% 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. Insiders sold a total of 39,837 shares of company stock valued at $2,591,612 over the last quarter. 3.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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