Key Points
- Essent Group CFO David Weinstock sold 5,500 shares at an average price of $68.54, generating approximately $376,970. The transaction was conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan, reducing his holdings by 15.5%.
- Essent reported quarterly earnings of $2.08 per share on revenue of $362.69 million, with analysts expecting full-year EPS of $7.60. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.35, equivalent to a 2.1% yield.
- Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with three Buy ratings and five Holds and an average price target of $71.86. Institutional investors own approximately 93% of the company’s stock.
Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) CFO David Weinstock sold 5,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.54, for a total value of $376,970.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 29,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,055,788.76. This represents a 15.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
Essent Group Trading Down 0.4%
Shares of ESNT opened at $67.57 on Friday. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1-year low of $55.34 and a 1-year high of $70.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $67.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.42, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.76.
Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter. Essent Group had a return on equity of 11.91% and a net margin of 51.45%.The company had revenue of $362.69 million for the quarter. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.6 EPS for the current year.
Essent Group Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st were given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 31st. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio is 19.53%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of analysts have recently commented on ESNT shares. Roth Capital lifted their price target on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Essent Group from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Essent Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Essent Group from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Essent Group from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Essent Group has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $71.86.
View Our Latest Research Report on ESNT
Institutional Trading of Essent Group
Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ESNT. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Essent Group in the second quarter worth about $798,836,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Essent Group by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,076,950 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $206,628,000 after purchasing an additional 129,672 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Essent Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $155,516,000. Cooke & Bieler LP grew its holdings in Essent Group by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,952,006 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $126,900,000 after buying an additional 13,318 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissancere Holdings Ltd. purchased a new stake in Essent Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $107,114,521. Institutional investors own 93.00% of the company's stock.
About Essent Group
(
Get Free Report)
Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE: ESNT) is a Bermuda-based holding company that provides private mortgage insurance and related risk-management services for the U.S. residential housing market. Through its operating subsidiaries, the company helps mortgage lenders manage the credit risk associated with low-down-payment home loans.
Essent's principal business is mortgage insurance, which protects lenders and other mortgage investors against losses if a borrower defaults. Its products are generally used with conventional residential mortgages that have loan-to-value ratios above the levels traditionally eligible for uninsured financing.
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