William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT – Free Report) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 351,848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $22,617,000.
A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $798,836,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Essent Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $155,516,000. Renaissancere Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in Essent Group during the 2nd quarter worth $107,114,521,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in Essent Group during the 2nd quarter worth $43,068,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Essent Group by 78.9% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,517,859 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $92,180,000 after purchasing an additional 669,577 shares in the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Insider Activity at Essent Group
In other news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 5,500 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.51, for a total value of $349,305.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 35,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,254,223.94. The trade was a 13.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark Casale sold 21,607 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.07, for a total transaction of $1,514,002.49. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,039,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $142,921,148.37. The trade was a 1.05% 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. Insiders have sold a total of 96,348 shares of company stock valued at $6,552,539 over the last quarter. 3.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Essent Group Stock Down 0.6%
Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $362.69 million for the quarter. Essent Group had a return on equity of 11.91% and a net margin of 51.45%. On average, analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Essent Group Announces Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.53%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
ESNT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Essent Group from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Essent Group from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Essent Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Essent Group from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Essent Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $71.86.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Essent Group
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.
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