Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Buys 92,824 Shares of Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT

Key Points

• Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund more than doubled its Essent Group stake, purchasing 92,824 shares to own 172,668 shares valued at approximately $10.1 million. Institutional investors collectively hold 93% of the company.
• Essent insiders sold 39,837 shares worth about $2.6 million over the past 90 days under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $67.71.
• Essent recently exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.82 in EPS versus the $1.68 estimate and $336.1 million in revenue. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, equivalent to a 2.1% annual yield.

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 116.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 172,668 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 92,824 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund owned 0.19% of Essent Group worth $10,091,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new position in Essent Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Essent Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Essent Group by 97.1% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 676 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Essent Group by 111.8% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 879 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Essent Group

In other news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 5,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.51, for a total transaction of $349,305.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 35,494 shares in the company, valued at $2,254,223.94. This trade represents a 13.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark Casale sold 29,329 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.35, for a total transaction of $1,916,650.15. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,184,143 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $142,733,745.05. The trade was a 1.33% decrease in their position. 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 have sold 39,837 shares of company stock valued at $2,591,612 in the last 90 days. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on ESNT shares. Roth Capital restated a "buy" rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Essent Group in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Essent Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $68.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Essent Group from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $67.71.

Essent Group Stock Up 1.6%

ESNT stock opened at $67.41 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $6.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $61.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $61.27. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1-year low of $55.34 and a 1-year high of $67.71.

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

Essent Group Announces Dividend

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

About Essent Group

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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