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 that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.51, for a total value of $349,305.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 35,494 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,254,223.94. The trade was a 13.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Essent Group Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of ESNT traded down $0.55 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $64.28. 1,066,259 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 780,172. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52-week low of $55.22 and a 52-week high of $67.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.32. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.30. The firm has a market cap of $5.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.78.

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

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essent Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ESNT. Cozad Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Essent Group by 2.4% during the first quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 26,744 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,563,000 after buying an additional 630 shares during the period. EMG Holdings L.P. purchased a new position in Essent Group in the first quarter worth approximately $3,506,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in Essent Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $7,566,000. South Dakota Investment Council grew its holdings in Essent Group by 27.7% during the 1st quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 31,169 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,822,000 after acquiring an additional 6,762 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its position in shares of Essent Group by 92.1% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 10,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $623,000 after purchasing an additional 5,116 shares during the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Barclays increased their target price 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. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Essent Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $68.00 price target for the company. Finally, Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $66.57.

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.