Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons Sells 3,760 Shares

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 on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.00, for a total transaction of $233,120.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 247,023 shares in the company, valued at $15,315,426. This trade represents a 1.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through 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 shares were sold at an average price of $62.00, for a total transaction 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 1.2%

ESNT traded up $0.7250 on Tuesday, reaching $62.2850. The company's stock had a trading volume of 173,426 shares, compared to its average volume of 750,617. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1 year low of $51.61 and a 1 year high of $65.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market cap of $6.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.62 and a beta of 0.82. The business's 50 day moving average is $58.72 and its 200 day moving average is $57.47.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.25. Essent Group had a net margin of 56.36% and a return on equity of 12.66%. The firm had revenue of $319.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $317.46 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.91 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essent Group

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. AdvisorNet Financial Inc acquired a new position in Essent Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Essent Group by 1,765.2% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 429 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in Essent Group during the 1st quarter valued at $46,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 330.6% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,098 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 843 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 20.2% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,114 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded shares of Essent Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Essent Group from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Compass Point reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $60.00 price objective on Essent Group in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Essent Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $63.67.

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.