Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) CEO Mark Casale Sells 3,763 Shares of Stock

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) CEO Mark Casale sold 3,763 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.01, for a total value of $244,632.63. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,214,717 shares in the company, valued at $143,978,752.17. This represents a 0.17% 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 Tuesday, April 28th, Mark Casale sold 13,064 shares of Essent Group stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.05, for a total value of $849,813.20.

Essent Group Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of ESNT opened at $64.80 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $60.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.32. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1 year low of $55.22 and a 1 year high of $67.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.97 billion, a PE ratio of 9.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.76.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.14. Essent Group had a net margin of 53.64% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The company had revenue of $336.07 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $297.56 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.69 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.94%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essent Group

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Essent Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 97.1% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 676 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 790.6% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 757 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 672 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on ESNT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Essent Group from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Essent Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $68.00 target price on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on Essent Group from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essent Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $66.57.

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.