Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Reduces Position in Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP decreased its holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 0.7% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund 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 about 0.06% of Essent Group worth $313,369,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of Essent Group by 97.1% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 676 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Essent Group by 111.8% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 879 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Essent Group

In related news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 5,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.51, for a total value of $349,305.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 35,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,254,223.94. This trade represents a 13.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 4,250 shares of the business’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 value of $276,292.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 233,336 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,169,173.36. This represents a 1.79% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 57,151 shares of company stock worth $3,717,718. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ESNT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays increased 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Essent Group from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Weiss Ratings raised Essent Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.71.

Essent Group Trading Down 0.7%

Essent Group stock opened at $65.01 on Thursday. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1 year low of $55.34 and a 1 year high of $67.46. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $61.33 and its 200-day moving average is $61.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.32. The company has a market cap of $5.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.26, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.76.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $336.07 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $297.56 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 53.64% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.69 EPS. On average, equities 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is 19.94%.

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.