Brokerages Set Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Target Price at $65.00

Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $65.00.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays decreased their price objective on Essent Group from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised 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 research report on Monday, August 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, BTIG Research raised their price objective on Essent Group from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th.

Essent Group Stock Performance

Shares of ESNT stock opened at $55.50 on Monday. Essent Group has a 52 week low of $47.56 and a 52 week high of $65.33. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $61.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.44. The company has a market capitalization of $5.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.12.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $316.80 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 60.15%. The company’s revenue was up 969.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.66 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Essent Group will post 6.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. Essent Group’s payout ratio is 16.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.59, for a total value of $127,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 25,416 shares in the company, valued at $1,616,203.44. The trade was a 7.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 2.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essent Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ESNT. Inspire Investing LLC increased its position in Essent Group by 2.8% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 6,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $413,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Essent Group by 0.4% in the second quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 50,569 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,841,000 after buying an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 2.9% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 10,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $613,000 after buying an additional 287 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its position in Essent Group by 2.0% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 15,552 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,000,000 after buying an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Provident Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Essent Group by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Provident Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $790,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.