Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Stock Breaks Above 50 Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)’s stock price passed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $65.75 and traded as high as $67.70. Essent Group shares last traded at $67.5360, with a volume of 843,636 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ESNT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BTIG Research began coverage on Essent Group in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Essent Group from $72.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Essent Group from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Essent Group from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Roth Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $71.14.

Essent Group Trading Up 2.9%

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 firm has a market capitalization of $6.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.76. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $65.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.90.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter. Essent Group had a net margin of 51.45% and a return on equity of 11.91%. The business had revenue of $362.69 million during the quarter. Equities analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 31st. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.53%.

Insider Activity at Essent Group

In other Essent Group news, Director Roy Kasmar sold 4,837 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.71, for a total transaction of $332,350.27. Following the sale, the director owned 21,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,467,714.31. This represents a 18.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.54, for a total value of $376,970.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 29,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,055,788.76. The trade was a 15.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 70,146 shares of company stock valued at $4,900,365 over the last 90 days. 3.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $798,836,000. Renaissancere Holdings Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $107,114,521. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $43,068,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $41,041,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $24,746,000. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essent Group Company Profile

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE: ESNT) is a Bermuda-based holding company that provides private mortgage insurance and related risk-management services in the United States. Through its operating subsidiaries, the company helps protect mortgage lenders and investors against losses when borrowers default on residential mortgage loans.

Its principal business is mortgage insurance for low-down-payment conventional residential mortgages, enabling qualified borrowers to obtain home financing with less than a 20% down payment.