Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) CEO Mark Casale Sells 20,246 Shares

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) CEO Mark Casale sold 20,246 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.18, for a total value of $1,420,864.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,061,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $144,661,893.64. This trade represents a 0.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal 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 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, 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 value of $1,916,650.15.
• 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 value 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 value of $244,632.63.

Essent Group Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:ESNT opened at $68.59 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $64.87 and its 200 day moving average is $61.99. Essent Group Ltd. has a 12-month low of $55.34 and a 12-month high of $70.37. The stock has a market cap of $6.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.57, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $362.69 million for the quarter. Essent Group had a return on equity of 11.91% and a net margin of 51.45%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Essent Group from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Barclays lifted their price target on Essent Group from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” 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 report on Tuesday, June 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Essent Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Essent Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.86.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essent Group

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ESNT. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Essent Group during the 2nd quarter worth $798,836,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Essent Group by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,987,945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $779,336,000 after acquiring an additional 85,295 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Essent Group by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,076,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $206,628,000 after purchasing an additional 129,672 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Essent Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $155,516,000. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP boosted its position in Essent Group by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,952,006 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $126,900,000 after purchasing an additional 13,318 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

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.