California Public Employees Retirement System Increases Stock Holdings in Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT

California Public Employees Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 6.1% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 211,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,076 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $12,334,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new stake in Essent Group in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Essent Group in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in Essent Group by 97.1% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 676 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Stock Performance

Shares of ESNT opened at $65.64 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $61.52 and a 200-day moving average of $61.27. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1 year low of $55.34 and a 1 year high of $67.46. The company has a market cap of $6.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.32.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.14. Essent Group had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 53.64%.The business had revenue of $336.07 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $297.56 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.69 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ESNT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Essent Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on Essent Group in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $68.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Essent Group from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Barclays increased their price objective on Essent Group from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Essent Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Essent Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 4,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.01, for a total transaction of $276,292.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 233,336 shares in the company, valued at $15,169,173.36. This trade represents a 1.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 shares were sold at an average price of $65.35, for a total transaction of $1,916,650.15. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,184,143 shares in the company, valued at $142,733,745.05. This represents a 1.33% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 57,151 shares of company stock worth $3,717,718. 3.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Essent Group Company Profile

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.