State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Cuts Position in Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D decreased its position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 4.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,875 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,413 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $1,996,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESNT. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Essent Group by 1,272.6% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 970,969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,044,000 after purchasing an additional 900,229 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in Essent Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $41,084,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Essent Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,060,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Essent Group by 670.5% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 663,332 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,288,000 after acquiring an additional 577,245 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Essent Group by 64.2% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 848,282 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,581,000 after acquiring an additional 331,535 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Stock Performance

Shares of ESNT stock opened at $60.67 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $62.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.61. The company has a market cap of $5.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.86, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.88. Essent Group Ltd. has a 12 month low of $51.61 and a 12 month high of $65.90.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its earnings results on Friday, August 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $319.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $317.46 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 56.36% and a return on equity of 12.66%. The company’s revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.91 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 29th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Essent Group’s payout ratio is presently 18.10%.

Insider Activity

In other Essent Group news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.33, for a total value of $158,325.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 24,865 shares in the company, valued at $1,574,700.45. This represents a 9.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director William Spiegel sold 6,451 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.74, for a total transaction of $404,735.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 26,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,647,050.48. This represents a 19.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 28,190 shares of company stock worth $1,802,316. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ESNT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Compass Point reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. DOWLING & PARTN lowered Essent Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $60.00 price objective on Essent Group and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Essent Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $65.67.

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.