Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) SVP Sells $233,120.00 in Stock

Key Points

• Essent Group Ltd. SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 3,760 shares for a total of $233,120, resulting in a 1.50% decrease in her position, which now includes 247,023 shares.
• The company reported strong earnings for the last quarter with $1.93 earnings per share, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.68, and a revenue of $319.14 million.
• Essent Group declared a quarterly dividend of $0.31, with an annualized yield of 2.0%, scheduled to be paid on September 10th.

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 3,760 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.00, for a total value of $233,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 247,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,315,426. This represents a 1.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

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

• On Tuesday, July 1st, Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 240 shares of Essent Group stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.00, for a total value of $14,880.00.
• 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 value of $119,940.00.

Essent Group Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of ESNT stock traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $62.85. 720,093 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 765,442. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1 year low of $51.61 and a 1 year high of $65.33. The company's 50 day moving average is $58.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm has a market cap of $6.19 billion, a PE ratio of 9.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.75 and a beta of 0.82.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.25. Essent Group had a return on equity of 12.66% and a net margin of 56.36%. The firm had revenue of $319.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $317.46 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.91 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. Essent Group's payout ratio is currently 18.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on ESNT. DOWLING & PARTN downgraded Essent Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays lifted their price objective on Essent Group from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, August 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded Essent Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $60.00 price target on Essent Group and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $63.67.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essent Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Essent Group by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,399,228 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $311,638,000 after acquiring an additional 230,553 shares in the last quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc lifted its position in Essent Group by 14.9% in the 4th quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 2,700,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $146,988,000 after acquiring an additional 350,000 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position in Essent Group by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 2,370,484 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $129,049,000 after acquiring an additional 221,950 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Essent Group by 29.3% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,966,171 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $107,038,000 after acquiring an additional 445,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in Essent Group by 43.2% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,709,029 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $93,040,000 after acquiring an additional 515,171 shares in the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.