Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Shares Down 6.9% – Here’s What Happened

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on ESNT shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, September 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Essent Group from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Essent Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Roth Capital increased their price target on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Three 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, the company currently has an average 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 P/E ratio of 8.21, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.76. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $67.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $63.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.18.

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

Essent Group Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Vijay Bhasin sold 14,175 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $992,250.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 184,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,899,180. This trade represents a 7.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Douglas Pauls sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.70, for a total transaction of $174,250.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 30,154 shares in the company, valued at $2,101,733.80. This trade represents a 7.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 100,720 shares of company stock valued at $6,898,040 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ESNT. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new stake in Essent Group during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 790.6% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 757 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 672 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $55,000. Root Financial Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Essent Group by 111.8% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 879 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the period. Finally, Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group in the second quarter valued at $66,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

About Essent Group

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.