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

Key Points

• Essent Group's CFO, David Weinstock, sold 2,500 shares at an average price of $63.33, reducing his ownership by 9.14%, leaving him with approximately $1.57 million in shares.
• The company's stock recently increased by 1.6% during trading hours, reaching $63.50, with a market cap of $6.26 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.27.
• Essent Group reported earnings of $1.93 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, and also issued a quarterly dividend of $0.31.

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) CFO David Weinstock sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.33, for a total transaction of $158,325.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 24,865 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,574,700.45. This represents a 9.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Essent Group Stock Up 1.6%

NYSE:ESNT traded up $1.02 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $63.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 743,107 shares, compared to its average volume of 723,910. The company has a market cap of $6.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.86. Essent Group Ltd. has a one year low of $51.61 and a one year high of $65.33. The business's 50-day moving average is $60.06 and its 200-day moving average is $58.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

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

Essent Group Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, August 8th. DOWLING & PARTN cut shares of Essent Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Essent Group from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of Essent Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $60.00 target price on shares of Essent Group and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $63.67.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

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.

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