Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) CEO Sells $1,420,864.28 in Stock

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) CEO Mark Casale sold 20,246 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.18, for a total value of $1,420,864.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,061,298 shares in the company, valued at approximately $144,661,893.64. This represents a 0.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Mark Casale also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, August 19th, Mark Casale sold 21,607 shares of Essent Group stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.07, for a total value of $1,514,002.49.
• On Tuesday, July 7th, Mark Casale sold 29,329 shares of Essent Group stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.35, for a total value of $1,916,650.15.
• On Monday, July 6th, Mark Casale sold 1,245 shares of Essent Group stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.08, for a total value of $81,024.60.
• On Tuesday, June 30th, Mark Casale sold 3,763 shares of Essent Group stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.01, for a total value of $244,632.63.

Essent Group Trading Down 0.7%

ESNT stock traded down $0.45 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $68.59. The company had a trading volume of 361,407 shares, compared to its average volume of 733,401. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52 week low of $55.34 and a 52 week high of $70.37. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $64.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $61.95. The stock has a market cap of $6.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.57, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.76.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Essent Group had a net margin of 51.45% and a return on equity of 11.91%. The firm had revenue of $362.69 million for the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be given 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 presently 19.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on ESNT shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Essent Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Roth Capital raised their target price on Essent Group from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” 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 note on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Essent Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.86.

Institutional Trading of Essent Group

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $211,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 16,584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted 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 valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP boosted its position in shares of Essent Group by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 38,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,499,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in Essent Group by 1.2% in the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 21,801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,324,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the period. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.