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

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) CFO David Weinstock sold 5,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.54, for a total value of $376,970.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 29,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,055,788.76. The trade was a 15.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Essent Group Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE ESNT opened at $67.57 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.07 billion, a PE ratio of 9.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.76. Essent Group Ltd. has a one year low of $55.34 and a one year high of $70.37. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $67.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.86.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $362.69 million during the quarter. Essent Group had a return on equity of 11.91% and a net margin of 51.45%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.6 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st were paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 31st. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on ESNT. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Essent Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Barclays increased their target price on Essent Group from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Essent Group from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Roth Capital lifted their price target on Essent Group from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $71.86.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essent Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Essent Group by 19.9% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,908 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $508,000 after acquiring an additional 1,315 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $822,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 427.2% during the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 34,582 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,223,000 after purchasing an additional 28,022 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 5.6% during the second quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 67,373 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,331,000 after purchasing an additional 3,552 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VELA Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Essent Group by 1.3% in the second quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC now owns 39,299 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,526,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essent Group Company Profile

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE: ESNT) is a Bermuda-based holding company that provides private mortgage insurance and related risk-management services for the U.S. residential housing market. Through its operating subsidiaries, the company helps mortgage lenders manage the credit risk associated with low-down-payment home loans.

Essent’s principal business is mortgage insurance, which protects lenders and other mortgage investors against losses if a borrower defaults. Its products are generally used with conventional residential mortgages that have loan-to-value ratios above the levels traditionally eligible for uninsured financing.