Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) CFO David B. Weinstock Sells 2,000 Shares

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.59, for a total transaction of $127,180.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 25,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,616,203.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Essent Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ESNT opened at $63.43 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $61.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.13. The firm has a market cap of $6.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.12. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1 year low of $45.63 and a 1 year high of $65.33.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The financial services provider reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.23. Essent Group had a return on equity of 14.40% and a net margin of 61.31%. The business had revenue of $272.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $308.33 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.61 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.02 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. Essent Group’s payout ratio is currently 16.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on ESNT. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Essent Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $65.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Essent Group from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Essent Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their price objective on Essent Group from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Essent Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $64.33.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essent Group

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ESNT. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Essent Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $60,678,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,680,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $262,973,000 after buying an additional 445,853 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Essent Group by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,917,819 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $709,229,000 after buying an additional 440,385 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Essent Group by 94.1% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 739,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,019,000 after acquiring an additional 358,621 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Essent Group by 68.8% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 436,009 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,499,000 after acquiring an additional 177,700 shares during the period. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.