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 stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.51, for a total value of $349,305.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 35,494 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,254,223.94. This represents a 13.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Essent Group Price Performance

Essent Group stock opened at $64.28 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.16, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.78. Essent Group Ltd. has a one year low of $55.22 and a one year high of $67.09. 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 $60.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $61.31.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Essent Group had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 53.64%.The business had revenue of $336.07 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $297.56 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.69 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.25 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ESNT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price 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. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $68.00 price target for the company. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Essent Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Essent Group from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $66.57.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essent Group

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC grew its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 4,832 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $302,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in Essent Group by 5.6% during 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 buying an additional 172 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in Essent Group by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 16,584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,078,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the period. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Essent Group by 26.4% during 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 last quarter. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP grew its stake in shares of Essent Group by 0.7% during 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 last quarter. 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.