Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Position in Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 16.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 914,471 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 131,823 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $53,442,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ESNT. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new position in Essent Group during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Essent Group during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in Essent Group by 97.1% during 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 grew its holdings in Essent Group by 111.8% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 879 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Mark Casale sold 29,329 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.35, for a total transaction of $1,916,650.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,184,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $142,733,745.05. This trade represents a 1.33% decrease in their position. The transaction 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 Essent Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.01, for a total transaction of $276,292.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 233,336 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,169,173.36. This trade represents a 1.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 64,779 shares of company stock valued at $4,198,358. Company insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Price Performance

NYSE:ESNT opened at $66.67 on Friday. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52 week low of $55.34 and a 52 week high of $67.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a market capitalization of $6.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.76. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $61.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.26.

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

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ESNT. Barclays raised their target price on Essent Group from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $68.00 price objective for the company. Roth Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Essent Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.71.

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.