Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) CEO Mark Casale Sells 798 Shares of Stock

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) CEO Mark Casale sold 798 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.01, for a total transaction of $55,867.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,038,893 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $142,742,898.93. This represents a 0.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 Wednesday, August 19th, Mark Casale sold 21,607 shares of Essent Group stock. The shares were 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.
• On Tuesday, July 7th, Mark Casale sold 29,329 shares of Essent Group stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.35, for a total value of $1,916,650.15.
• On Monday, July 6th, Mark Casale sold 1,245 shares of Essent Group stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.08, for a total value of $81,024.60.
• 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 value of $244,632.63.

Essent Group Price Performance

ESNT opened at $68.41 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $67.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.47. The firm has a market cap of $6.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.54, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.76. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1 year low of $55.34 and a 1 year high of $70.37.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $362.69 million during the quarter. Essent Group had a return on equity of 11.91% and a net margin of 51.45%. As a group, analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ESNT shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Essent Group from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Roth Capital increased their target price on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings raised Essent Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Essent Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $71.86.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essent Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Allworth Financial LP bought a new position in Essent Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in Essent Group by 97.1% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 676 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

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.