Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) CFO David Weinstock Sells 5,500 Shares

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) CFO David Weinstock sold 5,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.51, for a total transaction of $349,305.00. Following the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Essent Group Stock Down 0.8%

NYSE:ESNT traded down $0.55 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $64.28. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,066,259 shares, compared to its average volume of 780,172. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $60.48 and a 200-day moving average of $61.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52-week low of $55.22 and a 52-week high of $67.09.

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

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is 19.94%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in Essent Group by 97.1% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC raised its position in Essent Group by 111.8% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 879 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ESNT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Essent Group from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $68.00 price target for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Essent Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.