Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.35

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of 0.35 per share by the financial services provider on Monday, March 23rd. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This is a 12.9% increase from Essent Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31.

Essent Group has increased its dividend by an average of 0.3%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 6 years. Essent Group has a dividend payout ratio of 17.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Essent Group to earn $7.20 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.24 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 17.2%.

Essent Group Trading Down 6.3%

ESNT stock opened at $61.52 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $63.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.32. Essent Group has a fifty-two week low of $51.61 and a fifty-two week high of $67.09. The firm has a market cap of $5.95 billion, a PE ratio of 8.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 1.68.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 13th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.74 by ($0.14). Essent Group had a net margin of 55.63% and a return on equity of 12.40%. The business had revenue of $312.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $312.62 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.58 EPS. Essent Group’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Essent Group will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 4,352 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total transaction of $291,584.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 237,896 shares in the company, valued at $15,939,032. This trade represents a 1.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 2.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Essent Group

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of Essent Group in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in Essent Group by 1,765.2% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 429 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

About Essent Group

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.