William Blair Investment Management LLC Purchases Shares of 351,848 Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT

Key Points

• William Blair Investment Management acquired 351,848 Essent Group shares worth approximately $22.6 million, establishing a new 0.39% position. Institutional investors collectively own about 93% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with three Buy ratings and five Holds; the consensus rating is Hold with an average price target of $71.86. Recent targets range from $65 to $78.
• Essent reported quarterly EPS of $2.08 on $362.69 million in revenue and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, representing a 2.1% yield. Insiders sold 96,348 shares worth $6.55 million over the past 90 days.

William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 351,848 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $22,617,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned about 0.39% of Essent Group at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Essent Group by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,987,945 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $779,336,000 after purchasing an additional 85,295 shares in the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new position in Essent Group during the fourth quarter valued at $1,485,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group in the 4th quarter worth $1,136,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Essent Group by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 485,298 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,550,000 after buying an additional 62,473 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissancere Holdings Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $107,114,521,000. 93.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Essent Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Essent Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Barclays upped their price objective on Essent Group from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Essent Group from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Essent Group from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $71.86.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.51, for a total value of $349,305.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 35,494 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,254,223.94. This represents a 13.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 value of $1,916,650.15. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 96,348 shares of company stock valued at $6,552,539. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Essent Group Price Performance

Essent Group stock opened at $68.10 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $65.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $62.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.12 billion, a PE ratio of 9.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Essent Group Ltd. has a 12-month low of $55.34 and a 12-month high of $70.37.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter. Essent Group had a net margin of 51.45% and a return on equity of 11.91%. The company had revenue of $362.69 million for the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.6 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. Essent Group's payout ratio is 19.53%.

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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