Mark Casale Sells 21,607 Shares of Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Stock

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) CEO Mark Casale sold 21,607 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.07, for a total value of $1,514,002.49. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,039,691 shares in the company, valued at $142,921,148.37. This trade represents a 1.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Mark Casale also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, August 18th, Mark Casale sold 20,246 shares of Essent Group stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.18, for a total value of $1,420,864.28.
• On Tuesday, July 7th, Mark Casale sold 29,329 shares of Essent Group stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.35, for a total transaction of $1,916,650.15.
• On Monday, July 6th, Mark Casale sold 1,245 shares of Essent Group stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.08, for a total transaction of $81,024.60.
• On Tuesday, June 30th, Mark Casale sold 3,763 shares of Essent Group stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.01, for a total transaction of $244,632.63.

Essent Group Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of Essent Group stock traded down $0.45 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $68.59. The company had a trading volume of 361,407 shares, compared to its average volume of 733,401. Essent Group Ltd. has a twelve month low of $55.34 and a twelve month high of $70.37. The company has a market cap of $6.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The company’s 50-day moving average is $64.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.95.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $362.69 million for the quarter. Essent Group had a return on equity of 11.91% and a net margin of 51.45%. Analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

ESNT has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Essent Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Roth Capital lifted their target price on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Essent Group from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted 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, August 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $71.86.

Institutional Trading of Essent Group

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the third quarter worth $25,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new position in Essent Group during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Essent Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new stake in Essent Group in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Essent Group by 97.1% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 676 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares during the period. 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.