Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) SVP Vijay Bhasin Sells 14,175 Shares

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) SVP Vijay Bhasin sold 14,175 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $992,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 184,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,899,180. This trade represents a 7.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Vijay Bhasin also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, August 7th, Vijay Bhasin sold 483 shares of Essent Group stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $33,810.00.

Essent Group Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE ESNT opened at $69.68 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.76. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.18. Essent Group Ltd. has a one year low of $55.34 and a one year high of $70.37.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter. Essent Group had a return on equity of 11.91% and a net margin of 51.45%. Research analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Barclays boosted their target price on Essent Group from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Wall Street Zen raised Essent Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Roth Capital boosted their price objective on Essent Group from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Essent Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.86.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essent Group

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESNT. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new stake in Essent Group during the third quarter worth $27,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Essent Group during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Allworth Financial LP purchased a new stake in Essent Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, 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 buying an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.