Strs Ohio Acquires 14,800 Shares of Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT

Strs Ohio grew its holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 137.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 25,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,800 shares during the period. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $1,627,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Essent Group by 1,765.2% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 429 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Essent Group by 27.8% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 947 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Essent Group by 160.0% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,080 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 1,280 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Essent Group by 21.9% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,250 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $143,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Essent Group by 12.5% in the 2nd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,552 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $155,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the period. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Essent Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESNT opened at $62.21 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $63.33 and a 200-day moving average of $61.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 1.68. Essent Group Ltd. has a twelve month low of $51.61 and a twelve month high of $67.09. The firm has a market cap of $6.01 billion, a PE ratio of 9.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.90.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by ($0.08). Essent Group had a return on equity of 12.40% and a net margin of 55.63%.The company had revenue of $311.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $316.84 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.65 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st were issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.05%.

Insider Activity at Essent Group

In other news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 4,352 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total transaction of $291,584.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 237,896 shares in the company, valued at $15,939,032. The trade was a 1.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Roy James Kasmar sold 3,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total value of $199,680.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 23,573 shares in the company, valued at $1,448,325.12. This trade represents a 12.12% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Essent Group in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Essent Group from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Essent Group from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.29.

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.