Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Shares Gap Down - Here's What Happened

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $60.01, but opened at $57.50. Essent Group shares last traded at $54.19, with a volume of 193,645 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ESNT. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Essent Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $65.00 to $70.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. Barclays upped their price target on Essent Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Essent Group from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Essent Group from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, BTIG Research upped their target price on Essent Group from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $66.50.

Essent Group Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $63.12 and a 200 day moving average of $59.25. The firm has a market cap of $5.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.12.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $272.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $308.33 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.61 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essent Group

In other news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 25,416 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,616,203.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,616,203.44. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Roy James Kasmar sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.81, for a total value of $294,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 27,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,596,103.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Essent Group

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Essent Group by 3.8% during the first 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 last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted 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 period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in Essent Group by 94.1% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 739,688 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $44,019,000 after buying an additional 358,621 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted 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 worth $24,499,000 after acquiring an additional 177,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in Essent Group by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 361,028 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $20,286,000 after purchasing an additional 3,507 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.00% of the company's stock.

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.