Weekly Research Analysts’ Ratings Updates for Essent Group (ESNT)

Several analysts have recently updated their ratings and price targets for Essent Group (NYSE: ESNT):

• 5/22/2026 – Essent Group had its “buy (b)” rating reaffirmed by Weiss Ratings.
• 5/22/2026 – Essent Group is now covered by Royal Bank Of Canada. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $68.00 price target on the stock.
• 5/22/2026 – Essent Group is now covered by Royal Bank Of Canada. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $68.00 price target on the stock.
• 5/11/2026 – Essent Group had its price target raised by Barclays PLC from $61.00 to $62.00. They now have an “equal weight” rating on the stock.
• 4/9/2026 – Essent Group had its price target lowered by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $65.00 to $64.00. They now have a “neutral” rating on the stock.
• 4/6/2026 – Essent Group had its price target lowered by Barclays PLC from $63.00 to $61.00. They now have an “equal weight” rating on the stock.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. Essent Group’s payout ratio is 19.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Essent Group news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 7,628 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.01, for a total value of $480,640.28. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 237,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,970,293.86. The trade was a 3.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark Casale sold 13,064 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.05, for a total value of $849,813.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,218,480 shares in the company, valued at $144,312,124. This trade represents a 0.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 25,814 shares of company stock worth $1,661,682 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

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.