Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Reduces Stock Position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund cut its stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 1.4% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 21,286 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 300 shares during the quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $1,229,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Essent Group by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,367,101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $673,265,000 after buying an additional 432,034 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Essent Group by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,168,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $281,382,000 after purchasing an additional 200,284 shares during the last quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc grew its position in shares of Essent Group by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 2,700,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $146,988,000 after purchasing an additional 350,000 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its position in shares of Essent Group by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 2,370,484 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $129,049,000 after purchasing an additional 221,950 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP grew its position in shares of Essent Group by 45.9% in the fourth quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 2,228,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $121,343,000 after purchasing an additional 700,730 shares during the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essent Group Stock Performance

ESNT stock opened at $61.90 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.06, a PEG ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $58.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $57.01. Essent Group Ltd. has a one year low of $51.61 and a one year high of $65.34.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 9th. The financial services provider reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $317.56 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $311.18 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 57.29% and a return on equity of 12.98%. Essent Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.70 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th were issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on ESNT. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Compass Point set a $69.00 target price on shares of Essent Group and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Essent Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essent Group

In other Essent Group news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 1,999 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $119,940.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 251,023 shares in the company, valued at $15,061,380. This trade represents a 0.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 3,000 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.80, for a total transaction of $179,400.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 27,165 shares in the company, valued at $1,624,467. The trade was a 9.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,740 shares of company stock worth $581,386 in the last quarter. 2.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Essent Group Company Profile

Essent Group Ltd., through its subsidiaries, provides private mortgage insurance and reinsurance for mortgages secured by residential properties located in the United States. Its mortgage insurance products include primary, pool, and master policy. The company also provides information technology maintenance and development services; customer support-related services; underwriting consulting; and contract underwriting services, as well as risk management products and title insurance and settlement services.