Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Stock Falls 6.9% – Here’s What Happened

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)’s share price dropped 6.9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The company traded as low as $59.26 and last traded at $58.8620. 530,825 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 27% from the average session volume of 732,090 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.24.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on ESNT. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Essent Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Essent Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. BTIG Research started coverage on Essent Group in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, September 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $71.86.

Essent Group Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $5.29 billion, a PE ratio of 8.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.76. 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $67.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $63.17.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter. Essent Group had a net margin of 51.45% and a return on equity of 11.91%. The business had revenue of $362.69 million during the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 31st. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.53%.

Insider Transactions at Essent Group

In other news, SVP Vijay Bhasin sold 14,175 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 184,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,899,180. The trade was a 7.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 5,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 29,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,055,788.76. The trade was a 15.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 100,720 shares of company stock valued at $6,898,040 over the last quarter. 3.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESNT. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased 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 worth $211,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its position 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 worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Essent Group by 5.6% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,071 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $296,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 19,586 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,145,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 10.9% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,071 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $197,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Company Profile

Essent Group Ltd. is a Bermuda-based holding company focused on private mortgage insurance and related risk-management solutions for the U.S. residential mortgage market. Through its subsidiaries, the company helps protect mortgage lenders and investors against losses when borrowers default on home loans.

Essent’s primary business is conducted through Essent Guaranty, Inc, which provides mortgage insurance for conventional residential mortgages, generally supporting loans made to borrowers with down payments below traditional thresholds.