Insider Selling: Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) CEO Sells $3,486,395.78 in Stock

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) CEO Mark Casale sold 49,042 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.09, for a total value of $3,486,395.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,989,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $141,458,507.59. The trade was a 2.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible 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 Thursday, September 3rd, Mark Casale sold 798 shares of Essent Group stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.01, for a total value of $55,867.98.
• On Wednesday, August 19th, Mark Casale sold 21,607 shares of Essent Group stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.07, for a total value of $1,514,002.49.
• On Tuesday, August 18th, Mark Casale sold 20,246 shares of Essent Group stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.18, for a total value of $1,420,864.28.

Essent Group Price Performance

Shares of ESNT stock opened at $64.80 on Thursday. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52 week low of $55.34 and a 52 week high of $71.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.70 billion, a PE ratio of 8.84, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.05. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $65.38 and its 200-day moving average is $63.15.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.03). Essent Group had a net margin of 49.08% and a return on equity of 11.99%. The business had revenue of $374.18 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $344.17 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.67 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 1st. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.13%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Essent Group by 16.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,372 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Essent Group by 7.9% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,314 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $192,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Essent Group by 5.6% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,071 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its holdings in Essent Group by 1.6% during the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 19,586 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,145,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in Essent Group by 13.5% in the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,018 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $175,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ESNT. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Roth Capital upped their price objective on Essent Group from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Essent Group from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered Essent Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Essent Group from $72.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Essent Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $70.62.

Essent Group Company Profile

Essent Group is a Bermuda-based provider of mortgage insurance and reinsurance, operating primarily in the United States. Its services help mortgage lenders manage the credit risk associated with residential home loans. Through its U.S. mortgage insurance subsidiary, Essent Guaranty, the company provides private mortgage insurance for eligible borrowers who make smaller down payments on conventional mortgages. The coverage can help lenders reduce potential losses if a borrower defaults. Essent also provides mortgage reinsurance through its reinsurance operations.