Insider Selling: Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) CEO Sells 13,064 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• CEO Mark Casale sold 13,064 shares on April 28 at an average price of $65.05 for about $849,813, executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan and reducing his stake by 0.59% to 2,218,480 shares ( valued ~ $144.3M).
• Stock and valuation: ESNT traded near $60.53 midday with a market cap of $5.69B, a P/E of 8.78, 50-/200-day moving averages around $60.06 and $61.70, and a 52-week range of $55.22–$67.09.
• Financials and payout: Recent quarterly EPS of $1.60 missed estimates and revenue was down 0.8% YoY, while the company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.35 ($1.40 annualized, ~2.3% yield); analyst consensus is a "Hold" with an average target of $67.86.

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) CEO Mark Casale sold 13,064 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.05, for a total transaction of $849,813.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,218,480 shares in the company, valued at $144,312,124. The trade was a 0.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Essent Group Stock Performance

Essent Group stock traded down $3.43 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $60.53. The stock had a trading volume of 1,164,950 shares, compared to its average volume of 716,666. The firm's fifty day moving average is $60.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.70. The company has a market capitalization of $5.69 billion, a PE ratio of 8.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.87. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52-week low of $55.22 and a 52-week high of $67.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.74 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $312.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $312.62 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 54.72%.Essent Group's revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.58 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This is a positive change from Essent Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.32%.

Institutional Trading of Essent Group

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ESNT. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new position in Essent Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Essent Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Essent Group by 45.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 624 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Essent Group by 97.1% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 676 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ESNT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Essent Group from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on Essent Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. UBS Group cut their target price on Essent Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Essent Group from $63.00 to $61.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essent Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $67.86.

Essent Group Company Profile

Essent Group Ltd. NYSE: ESNT is a publicly traded insurance holding company specializing in private mortgage insurance and mortgage reinsurance solutions. Through its primary subsidiary, Essent Guaranty, the company provides credit protection to mortgage lenders, helping mitigate the risk of borrower default on residential mortgage loans. Essent's insurance policies enable lenders to offer low-down-payment programs, supporting homebuyers in achieving homeownership with reduced upfront equity requirements.

Beyond traditional mortgage insurance, Essent offers a suite of risk management and analytics services designed to help financial institutions monitor and manage mortgage portfolios.

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