Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) CEO Mark Casale Sells 1,245 Shares of Stock

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) CEO Mark Casale sold 1,245 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.08, for a total transaction of $81,024.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,213,472 shares in the company, valued at $144,052,757.76. This represents a 0.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

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

• 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 transaction of $1,916,650.15.
• 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 transaction of $244,632.63.
• 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 transaction of $849,813.20.

Essent Group Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE ESNT opened at $64.08 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $60.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.27. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52-week low of $55.22 and a 52-week high of $67.09. The firm has a market cap of $5.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

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

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were issued 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 19.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on ESNT shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Essent Group from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Essent Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $66.57.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Essent Group in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 97.1% during the 4th 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 increased its position in shares of Essent Group by 790.6% during the 2nd 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 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.