Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Sets New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) shares reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as $67.38 and last traded at $67.2330, with a volume of 38269 shares. The stock had previously closed at $66.28.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Roth Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Essent Group from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Weiss Ratings raised Essent Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Barclays raised their price target on Essent Group from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Essent Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.71.

Essent Group Stock Up 1.2%

The firm has a market capitalization of $6.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.55, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.76. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $60.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.32.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $336.07 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $297.56 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 53.64% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.69 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.24 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.94%.

Insider Activity at Essent Group

In related news, CEO Mark Casale sold 29,329 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.35, for a total transaction of $1,916,650.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,184,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $142,733,745.05. This trade represents a 1.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 4,250 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.01, for a total value of $276,292.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 233,336 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,169,173.36. The trade was a 1.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 64,779 shares of company stock worth $4,198,358. Insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Essent Group

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $346,000. M&T Bank Corp acquired a new stake in Essent Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $239,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Essent Group by 160.0% during the 2nd 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 position in Essent Group during the second quarter worth $211,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in Essent Group during the second quarter worth $224,000. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.