Teacher Retirement System of Texas Boosts Position in Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT

Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 276.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 94,508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 69,403 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned about 0.10% of Essent Group worth $6,007,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ESNT. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in Essent Group by 1,765.2% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 429 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Essent Group by 27.8% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 947 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Essent Group by 160.0% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,080 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $126,000 after buying an additional 1,280 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Essent Group by 21.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,250 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $143,000 after buying an additional 404 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Essent Group by 12.5% during the 2nd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,552 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $155,000 after acquiring an additional 284 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 related news, Director Roy James Kasmar sold 3,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 23,573 shares in the company, valued at $1,448,325.12. The trade was a 12.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 4,352 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total value of $291,584.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 237,896 shares in the company, valued at $15,939,032. This trade represents a 1.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 3.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Essent Group from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on Essent Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Essent Group from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.29.

Essent Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESNT opened at $62.05 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $63.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $61.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.68. The company has a market capitalization of $6.00 billion, a PE ratio of 9.03, a PEG ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.90. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1-year low of $51.61 and a 1-year high of $67.09.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $311.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $316.84 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 12.40% and a net margin of 55.63%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.65 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 is presently 18.05%.

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.