Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) CEO Mark Casale Sells 29,329 Shares of Stock

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) CEO Mark Casale sold 29,329 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.35, for a total value of $1,916,650.15. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,184,143 shares in the company, valued at $142,733,745.05. This represents a 1.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing 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 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 transaction of $81,024.60.
• On Tuesday, June 30th, Mark Casale sold 3,763 shares of Essent Group stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.01, for a total transaction of $244,632.63.
• On Tuesday, April 28th, Mark Casale sold 13,064 shares of Essent Group stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.05, for a total transaction of $849,813.20.

Essent Group Price Performance

ESNT stock traded down $0.53 on Wednesday, hitting $64.08. 922,008 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 923,992. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1-year low of $55.22 and a 1-year high of $67.09. The stock has a market cap of $5.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $60.64 and a 200-day moving average of $61.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

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

Essent Group Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on ESNT shares. Weiss Ratings raised Essent Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Roth Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $68.00 price target for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Four equities research 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, Essent Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $66.57.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essent Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ESNT. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Essent Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $155,516,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Essent Group by 78.9% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,517,859 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $92,180,000 after purchasing an additional 669,577 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Essent Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,983,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 45.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,198,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $76,173,000 after buying an additional 372,881 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 152.3% in the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 455,819 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,682,000 after buying an additional 275,149 shares during the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.