Teacher Retirement System of Texas Acquires 58,271 Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 138.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 100,228 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 58,271 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned 0.10% of Essent Group worth $5,785,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESNT. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Essent Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $69,364,000. Cooke & Bieler LP raised its position in shares of Essent Group by 45.9% in the 4th quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 2,228,925 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $121,343,000 after acquiring an additional 700,730 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Essent Group by 43.2% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,709,029 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $93,040,000 after acquiring an additional 515,171 shares during the period. Walleye Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Essent Group by 144.8% in the 4th quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 846,169 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $46,065,000 after acquiring an additional 500,494 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Essent Group by 29.3% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,966,171 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $107,038,000 after acquiring an additional 445,012 shares during the period. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Essent Group

In related news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.80, for a total value of $179,400.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 27,165 shares in the company, valued at $1,624,467. This represents a 9.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 1,999 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $119,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 251,023 shares in the company, valued at $15,061,380. The trade was a 0.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,740 shares of company stock valued at $581,386 over the last quarter. 3.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ESNT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, May 9th. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of Essent Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and raised their target price for the company from $65.00 to $67.00 in a research note on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Essent Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $60.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $63.57.

Essent Group Stock Down 3.3%

Shares of ESNT traded down $2.07 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $59.83. 632,650 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 664,583. Essent Group Ltd. has a twelve month low of $51.61 and a twelve month high of $65.34. The company has a market cap of $6.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.76, a PEG ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.81. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $58.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.04.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 9th. The financial services provider reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $317.56 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $311.18 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 12.98% and a net margin of 57.29%. Essent Group's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.70 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th were paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.16%.

Essent Group Company Profile

Essent Group Ltd., through its subsidiaries, provides private mortgage insurance and reinsurance for mortgages secured by residential properties located in the United States. Its mortgage insurance products include primary, pool, and master policy. The company also provides information technology maintenance and development services; customer support-related services; underwriting consulting; and contract underwriting services, as well as risk management products and title insurance and settlement services.