Vijay Bhasin Sells 483 Shares of Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Stock

Key Points

• Essent Group SVP Vijay Bhasin sold 483 shares at an average price of $70, generating $33,810; the transaction reduced his direct ownership by 0.24% and was executed under a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
• ESNT shares rose 0.4% to $69.53, while the company reported quarterly EPS of $2.08 on $362.69 million in revenue. Essent also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.35, equivalent to a 2.0% annualized yield.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $71.86, although several firms recently raised their targets. Institutional investors own approximately 93% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) SVP Vijay Bhasin sold 483 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $33,810.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 198,449 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,891,430. The trade was a 0.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Essent Group Stock Up 0.4%

ESNT stock traded up $0.25 during trading on Friday, reaching $69.53. The stock had a trading volume of 368,926 shares, compared to its average volume of 521,512. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1-year low of $55.34 and a 1-year high of $70.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a market capitalization of $6.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.70, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.76. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $63.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.81.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st will be issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 19.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays upped their target price on Essent Group from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Essent Group from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $71.86.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $346,000. M&T Bank Corp acquired a new position in Essent Group in the second quarter worth $239,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Essent Group by 160.0% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,080 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 1,280 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Essent Group during the second quarter valued at $211,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the second quarter worth $224,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company's stock.

About Essent Group

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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