Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Sells 743 Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp trimmed its position in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 92,550 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 743 shares during the quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $5,200,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ESNT. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Essent Group during the 4th quarter valued at $60,678,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,917,819 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $709,229,000 after buying an additional 440,385 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 94.1% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 739,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,019,000 after buying an additional 358,621 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 31.2% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 650,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,295,000 after buying an additional 154,591 shares during the period. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in shares of Essent Group during the 1st quarter valued at $8,742,000. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on ESNT shares. BTIG Research raised their target price on Essent Group from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. UBS Group raised their target price on Essent Group from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Essent Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $65.00 to $70.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Essent Group from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Essent Group from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essent Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $64.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Essent Group news, Director Roy James Kasmar sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.81, for a total value of $294,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,596,103.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, SVP Vijay Bhasin sold 11,188 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.14, for a total transaction of $672,846.32. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 199,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,989,450.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Roy James Kasmar sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.81, for a total value of $294,050.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 27,140 shares in the company, valued at $1,596,103.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Essent Group Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE ESNT opened at $61.99 on Friday. Essent Group Ltd. has a 12 month low of $45.63 and a 12 month high of $64.69. The stock has a market cap of $6.61 billion, a PE ratio of 9.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.12. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $60.91 and its 200 day moving average is $57.48.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.23. Essent Group had a return on equity of 14.40% and a net margin of 61.31%. The business had revenue of $272.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $308.33 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.61 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. Essent Group’s payout ratio is 16.94%.

About Essent Group

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.