Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Sees Strong Trading Volume on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) saw an uptick in trading volume on Friday after Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded the stock from a market perform rating to an outperform rating. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods now has a $73.00 price target on the stock. 1,051,457 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 47% from the previous session’s volume of 717,005 shares.The stock last traded at $57.1930 and had previously closed at $57.17.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. UBS Group decreased 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, 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 target price on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essent Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $66.43.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essent Group

In related news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 7,628 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.01, for a total value of $480,640.28. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 237,586 shares in the company, valued at $14,970,293.86. This represents a 3.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark Casale sold 13,064 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.05, for a total transaction of $849,813.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,218,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $144,312,124. This trade represents a 0.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 25,814 shares of company stock valued at $1,661,682 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ESNT. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC raised its holdings in Essent Group by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 4,832 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $302,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in Essent Group by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $211,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Essent Group by 45.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 624 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Essent Group by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 16,584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,078,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the period. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of Essent Group by 0.4% in the third quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 51,945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,302,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the period. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Essent Group Trading Down 0.0%

The stock has a market capitalization of $5.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.78. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $60.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $61.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.32.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last posted its 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. Essent Group had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 53.64%.The company had revenue of $336.07 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $297.56 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.69 earnings per share. Essent Group’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.94%.

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.