Essent Group Ltd. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.35 (NYSE:ESNT)

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be given a dividend of 0.35 per share by the financial services provider on Thursday, September 10th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st.

Essent Group has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 6 years. Essent Group has a payout ratio of 19.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Essent Group to earn $7.64 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.40 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 18.3%.

Essent Group Price Performance

ESNT stock traded up $3.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $68.56. 941,837 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 741,880. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.32. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $62.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.51. Essent Group has a 12 month low of $55.34 and a 12 month high of $70.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.77, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.76.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $362.69 million during the quarter. Essent Group had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 53.64%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Essent Group will post 7.24 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 5,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.51, for a total value of $349,305.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 35,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,254,223.94. The trade was a 13.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark Casale sold 29,329 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.35, for a total value of $1,916,650.15. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,184,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $142,733,745.05. This represents a 1.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 39,837 shares of company stock worth $2,591,612. Company insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Essent Group

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group in the third quarter worth $25,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new stake in Essent Group in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Essent Group in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of Essent Group by 97.1% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 676 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Essent Group by 790.6% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 757 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 672 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Company Profile

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.