Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Lowers Stock Holdings in Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lessened its holdings in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 0.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,362,232 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 38,570 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 5.70% of Essent Group worth $313,369,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Essent Group during the second quarter worth about $346,000. M&T Bank Corp purchased a new stake in Essent Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $239,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Essent Group by 160.0% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,080 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $126,000 after acquiring an additional 1,280 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $211,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $224,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on ESNT shares. Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of Essent Group in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Essent Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on Essent Group in a report on Friday, May 22nd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $68.00 price objective for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Essent Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.71.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 5,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.51, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 13.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark Casale sold 29,329 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,184,143 shares in the company, valued at $142,733,745.05. This trade 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 quarter, insiders sold 57,151 shares of company stock worth $3,717,718. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Essent Group Price Performance

ESNT opened at $65.01 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52-week low of $55.34 and a 52-week high of $67.46. The company has a 50 day moving average of $61.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $61.24. The company has a market cap of $5.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.76.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.14. Essent Group had a net margin of 53.64% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The business had revenue of $336.07 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $297.56 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.69 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. Essent Group’s payout ratio is currently 19.94%.

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.