Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons Sells 224 Shares of Stock

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 224 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.03, for a total value of $13,446.72. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 254,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,295,583.97. The trade was a 0.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Mary Lourdes Gibbons also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, May 12th, Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 1,777 shares of Essent Group stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.07, for a total value of $106,744.39.

Essent Group Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of ESNT stock opened at $59.58 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $56.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $56.31. Essent Group Ltd. has a 12-month low of $51.61 and a 12-month high of $65.34. The firm has a market cap of $6.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.87.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 9th. The financial services provider reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.03. Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.35% and a net margin of 58.69%. The firm had revenue of $317.56 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $311.18 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.70 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ESNT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Essent Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.71.

Institutional Trading of Essent Group

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 154.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 208,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,431,000 after purchasing an additional 126,899 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Essent Group by 2.9% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 47,182 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,993,000 after buying an additional 1,309 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 36,389 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,981,000 after purchasing an additional 3,637 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 7,356 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $400,000 after purchasing an additional 938 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 39.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,207 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 1,198 shares in the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.