Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) SVP Sells $14,880.00 in Stock

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 240 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.00, for a total value of $14,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 250,783 shares in the company, valued at $15,548,546. This trade represents a 0.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Mary Lourdes Gibbons also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, June 23rd, Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 1,999 shares of Essent Group stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $119,940.00.
• On Monday, May 12th, Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 1,777 shares of Essent Group stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.07, for a total transaction of $106,744.39.
• On Friday, May 9th, Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 224 shares of Essent Group stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.03, for a total value of $13,446.72.

Essent Group Stock Performance

NYSE:ESNT traded up $0.78 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $61.90. 339,363 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 663,384. The company has a market cap of $6.28 billion, a PE ratio of 9.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.81. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $58.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.93. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1 year low of $51.61 and a 1 year high of $65.34.

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

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. Essent Group's payout ratio is 18.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, May 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Compass Point set a $69.00 price target on shares of Essent Group and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Essent Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $63.29.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essent Group

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ESNT. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Essent Group by 16.6% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,111 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $468,000 after purchasing an additional 1,157 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 215.1% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 86,087 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,687,000 after purchasing an additional 58,768 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 1.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 19,387 shares during the last quarter. Interval Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 17.9% during the fourth quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 221,710 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $12,070,000 after buying an additional 33,698 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 516,747 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,132,000 after buying an additional 27,077 shares in the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essent Group Company Profile

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.