Insider Selling: Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) SVP Sells 1,999 Shares of Stock

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 1,999 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $119,940.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 251,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,061,380. The trade was a 0.79% 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 Monday, May 12th, Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 1,777 shares of Essent Group stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.07, for a total value of $106,744.39.
• On Friday, May 9th, Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 224 shares of Essent Group stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.03, for a total value of $13,446.72.

Essent Group Stock Performance

ESNT opened at $60.25 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $6.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.82, a PEG ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.81. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $57.97 and a 200 day moving average of $56.69. Essent Group Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $51.61 and a fifty-two week high of $65.34.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 9th. The financial services provider reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $317.56 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $311.18 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 57.29% and a return on equity of 12.98%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.70 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.16%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essent Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESNT. Norges Bank bought a new position in Essent Group during the fourth quarter worth about $69,364,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 1,272.6% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 970,969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,044,000 after buying an additional 900,229 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the first quarter worth about $41,084,000. Cooke & Bieler LP lifted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 45.9% in the fourth quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 2,228,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $121,343,000 after buying an additional 700,730 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the first quarter worth about $34,060,000. Institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Compass Point set a $69.00 target price on Essent Group and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. 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 report on Tuesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essent Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.29.

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.