Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Director Sells 4,837 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Director sale: Roy Kasmar sold 4,837 Essent Group shares for approximately $332,350 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, reducing his direct holdings by 18.46% to 21,361 shares.
• Stock performance and fundamentals: Essent shares rose 0.9% to $68.76, near their 52-week high of $70.37. The company reported quarterly EPS of $2.08, $362.69 million in revenue, and a 51.45% net margin.
• Investor outlook: Essent pays a quarterly dividend of $0.35, yielding about 2.0%, while analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $71.86; institutional investors own 93% of the stock.

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) Director Roy Kasmar sold 4,837 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.71, for a total transaction of $332,350.27. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 21,361 shares in the company, valued at $1,467,714.31. The trade was a 18.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Essent Group Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE ESNT traded up $0.58 during trading on Monday, reaching $68.76. 554,069 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 718,964. Essent Group Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $55.34 and a fifty-two week high of $70.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm has a market cap of $6.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.76. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $67.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $62.65.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter. Essent Group had a net margin of 51.45% and a return on equity of 11.91%. The company had revenue of $362.69 million for the quarter. Analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.6 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 31st. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Essent Group's payout ratio is currently 19.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ESNT shares. Barclays increased their price target on Essent Group from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Essent Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Essent Group from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Roth Capital lifted their price target on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $71.86.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essent Group

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Essent Group by 19.9% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,908 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $508,000 after purchasing an additional 1,315 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new stake in Essent Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $822,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP lifted its position in Essent Group by 427.2% during the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 34,582 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,223,000 after buying an additional 28,022 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its position in Essent Group by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 67,373 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,331,000 after buying an additional 3,552 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VELA Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC now owns 39,299 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,526,000 after buying an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Essent Group Company Profile

Essent Group Ltd. NYSE: ESNT is a Bermuda-based holding company that provides private mortgage insurance and related risk-management services for the U.S. residential housing market. Through its operating subsidiaries, the company helps mortgage lenders manage the credit risk associated with low-down-payment home loans.

Essent's principal business is mortgage insurance, which protects lenders and other mortgage investors against losses if a borrower defaults. Its products are generally used with conventional residential mortgages that have loan-to-value ratios above the levels traditionally eligible for uninsured financing.

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