15,500 Shares in Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT Acquired by Strs Ohio

Key Points

• Strs Ohio has invested approximately $895,000 by acquiring 15,500 shares of Essent Group Ltd. in Q1 2023.
• Essent Group's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $1.93, exceeding estimates, with revenue up by 2.0% year-over-year.
• The stock has a current price target of $63.67 from analysts, with a moderate buy rating supported by four buy and four hold ratings.

Strs Ohio bought a new position in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 15,500 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $895,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. AdvisorNet Financial Inc bought a new stake in Essent Group during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $46,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Essent Group by 330.6% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,098 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 843 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in Essent Group by 20.2% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,114 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming boosted its position in Essent Group by 102.0% in the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,687 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $92,000 after buying an additional 852 shares during the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Essent Group news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $260,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 243,023 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,796,495. This represents a 1.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Vijay Bhasin sold 11,479 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $746,135.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 196,922 shares in the company, valued at $12,799,930. This represents a 5.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 28,430 shares of company stock worth $1,817,196 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.40% of the company's stock.

Essent Group Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of Essent Group stock traded down $0.54 on Monday, hitting $64.74. The company had a trading volume of 961,499 shares, compared to its average volume of 604,405. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $60.68 and a 200-day moving average of $58.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. Essent Group Ltd. has a twelve month low of $51.61 and a twelve month high of $65.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.85.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.25. Essent Group had a net margin of 56.36% and a return on equity of 12.66%. The company had revenue of $319.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $317.46 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.91 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th were paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 29th. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ESNT. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $60.00 price target on Essent Group and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. DOWLING & PARTN cut Essent Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $60.00 target price on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Compass Point reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $63.67.

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.