Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) CFO David B. Weinstock Sells 2,500 Shares

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.79, for a total transaction of $146,975.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,608,788.35. This trade represents a 8.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Essent Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESNT traded up $1.07 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $59.03. The company had a trading volume of 603,221 shares, compared to its average volume of 650,486. Essent Group Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $51.61 and a fifty-two week high of $65.34. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $57.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.81.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 9th. The financial services provider reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $317.56 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $311.18 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 57.29% and a return on equity of 12.98%. Essent Group's revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.70 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ESNT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Essent Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $60.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Compass Point set a $69.00 target price on shares of Essent Group and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $63.29.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essent Group

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in Essent Group by 215.1% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 86,087 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,687,000 after buying an additional 58,768 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,570,532 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $85,500,000 after acquiring an additional 19,387 shares during the period. Interval Partners LP increased its stake in Essent Group by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 221,710 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,070,000 after purchasing an additional 33,698 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Essent Group by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 516,747 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,132,000 after purchasing an additional 27,077 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in Essent Group by 30.9% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 112,394 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,119,000 after purchasing an additional 26,537 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company's stock.

About Essent Group

Essent Group Ltd., through its subsidiaries, provides private mortgage insurance and reinsurance for mortgages secured by residential properties located in the United States. Its mortgage insurance products include primary, pool, and master policy. The company also provides information technology maintenance and development services; customer support-related services; underwriting consulting; and contract underwriting services, as well as risk management products and title insurance and settlement services.

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