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

Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 138.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund 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 SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,367,101 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $673,265,000 after acquiring an additional 432,034 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,168,675 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $281,382,000 after purchasing an additional 200,284 shares in the last quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc raised its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 2,700,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $146,988,000 after acquiring an additional 350,000 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 2,370,484 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $129,049,000 after acquiring an additional 221,950 shares during the period. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP raised its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 45.9% during the fourth 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. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essent Group Stock Performance

ESNT traded up $0.35 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $60.20. The company had a trading volume of 12,161 shares, compared to its average volume of 662,176. The company has a market capitalization of $6.10 billion, a PE ratio of 8.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.81. Essent Group Ltd. has a twelve month low of $51.61 and a twelve month high of $65.34. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $58.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.09.

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

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. Essent Group's payout ratio is 18.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 1,999 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $119,940.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 251,023 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,061,380. This trade represents a 0.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.80, for a total transaction of $179,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 27,165 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,624,467. This trade represents a 9.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,740 shares of company stock valued at $581,386 in the last 90 days. 3.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on ESNT shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of Essent Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $65.00 to $67.00 in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Essent Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $60.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Compass Point set a $69.00 price target on shares of Essent Group and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, May 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $63.57.

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.