Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) CEO Sells $1,420,864.28 in Stock

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) CEO Mark Casale sold 20,246 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.18, for a total transaction of $1,420,864.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,061,298 shares in the company, valued at $144,661,893.64. This represents a 0.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

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

• On Wednesday, August 19th, Mark Casale sold 21,607 shares of Essent Group stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.07, for a total transaction of $1,514,002.49.
• On Tuesday, July 7th, Mark Casale sold 29,329 shares of Essent Group stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.35, for a total transaction of $1,916,650.15.
• 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 transaction of $81,024.60.
• On Tuesday, June 30th, Mark Casale sold 3,763 shares of Essent Group stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.01, for a total transaction of $244,632.63.

Essent Group Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE ESNT traded down $0.45 on Thursday, reaching $68.59. 361,407 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 733,401. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $64.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $61.95. Essent Group Ltd. has a 12 month low of $55.34 and a 12 month high of $70.37. The company has a market cap of $6.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $362.69 million for the quarter. Essent Group had a return on equity of 11.91% and a net margin of 51.45%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. Essent Group’s payout ratio is 19.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ESNT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Essent Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Essent Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Essent Group from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.86.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essent Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ESNT. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Essent Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Allworth Financial LP purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in Essent Group by 97.1% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 676 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

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.