Insider Selling: Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Director Sells 6,451 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Director William Spiegel of Essent Group Ltd. sold 6,451 shares at an average price of $62.74, amounting to a total of $404,735.74, reducing his holdings by 19.73%.
• Essent Group reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.93 for the latest quarter, exceeding expectations and reflecting a 2.0% year-over-year revenue increase.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share to be paid on September 10th, offering a dividend yield of 2.0%.

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) Director William Spiegel sold 6,451 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.74, for a total transaction of $404,735.74. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 26,252 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,647,050.48. This represents a 19.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Essent Group Stock Performance

ESNT stock traded up $0.04 during trading on Thursday, reaching $62.85. 720,093 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 765,442. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $58.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $57.45. The company has a market capitalization of $6.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.75 and a beta of 0.82. Essent Group Ltd. has a twelve month low of $51.61 and a twelve month high of $65.33.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $319.14 million for 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%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.91 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on ESNT shares. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Essent Group from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. DOWLING & PARTN downgraded Essent Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, August 8th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Compass Point restated a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, August 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essent Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $63.67.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essent Group

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LPL Financial LLC increased its position in Essent Group by 29.6% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 12,371 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $673,000 after acquiring an additional 2,823 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its holdings in Essent Group by 27.3% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 62,778 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,418,000 after acquiring an additional 13,481 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 11,109 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $605,000 after purchasing an additional 519 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in Essent Group by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 11,012 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $599,000 after purchasing an additional 1,327 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Essent Group by 40.6% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 60,600 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,299,000 after acquiring an additional 17,500 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.00% of the company's stock.

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.

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