Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Stock Price Crosses Below 200-Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)’s stock price crossed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $61.26 and traded as low as $59.43. Essent Group shares last traded at $61.7590, with a volume of 1,239,895 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on ESNT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on Essent Group in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $68.00 price target for the company. Barclays increased their price objective on Essent Group from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on Essent Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essent Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $66.43.

Essent Group Stock Up 3.3%

The stock has a market cap of $5.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $60.33 and its 200 day moving average is $61.26.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.14. Essent Group had a net margin of 53.64% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The firm had revenue of $336.07 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $297.56 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.69 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.25 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. Essent Group’s payout ratio is currently 19.94%.

Insider Activity at Essent Group

In other Essent Group news, CEO Mark Casale sold 13,064 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.05, for a total value of $849,813.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,218,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $144,312,124. The trade was a 0.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 4,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $15,169,173.36. This trade represents a 1.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 90 days, insiders have sold 25,814 shares of company stock valued at $1,661,682. 3.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essent Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cozad Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Essent Group by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 26,744 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,563,000 after purchasing an additional 630 shares during the period. EMG Holdings L.P. bought a new position in shares of Essent Group during the 1st quarter worth about $3,506,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in shares of Essent Group during the 1st quarter worth about $7,566,000. South Dakota Investment Council raised its position in shares of Essent Group by 27.7% during the first quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 31,169 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,822,000 after buying an additional 6,762 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 92.1% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 10,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $623,000 after buying an additional 5,116 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Company Profile

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.