Insider Selling: Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) SVP Sells 1,777 Shares of Stock

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 1,777 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.07, for a total transaction of $106,744.39. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 253,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,199,031.54. The trade was a 0.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Mary Lourdes Gibbons also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, May 9th, Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 224 shares of Essent Group stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.03, for a total transaction of $13,446.72.

Essent Group Trading Down 0.1%

Essent Group stock opened at $59.58 on Wednesday. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1-year low of $51.61 and a 1-year high of $65.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.31.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 9th. The financial services provider reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $317.56 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $311.18 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 58.69% and a return on equity of 13.35%. Essent Group’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.70 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ESNT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Essent Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.71.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ESNT. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its position in shares of Essent Group by 68.8% during the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group during the 1st quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its position in shares of Essent Group by 53.3% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,125 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.