Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) CEO Mark Casale Sells 29,329 Shares of Stock

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) CEO Mark Casale sold 29,329 shares of Essent Group 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 $142,733,745.05. This trade represents a 1.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Mark Casale also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, July 6th, Mark Casale sold 1,245 shares of Essent Group stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.08, for a total value of $81,024.60.
• On Tuesday, June 30th, Mark Casale sold 3,763 shares of Essent Group stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.01, for a total value of $244,632.63.
• On Tuesday, April 28th, Mark Casale sold 13,064 shares of Essent Group stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.05, for a total value of $849,813.20.

Essent Group Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of ESNT opened at $64.08 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $60.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $61.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.32. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52-week low of $55.22 and a 52-week high of $67.09. The company has a market cap of $5.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.13, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.76.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.14. Essent Group had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 53.64%.The company had revenue of $336.07 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $297.56 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.69 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is 19.94%.

Institutional Trading of Essent Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of Essent Group by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 4,832 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $302,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in Essent Group by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Essent Group by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 16,584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Essent Group by 26.4% in the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,162 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP lifted its stake in Essent Group by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 38,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,499,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ESNT. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Essent Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Essent Group from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $68.00 target price for the company. Finally, Roth Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of Essent Group in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essent Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $66.57.

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.