Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Receives $62.57 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $62.57.

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $67.00 target price on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Essent Group from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays cut Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $69.00 to $58.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Essent Group from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday.

Essent Group Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE ESNT opened at $56.16 on Wednesday. Essent Group has a 52 week low of $51.99 and a 52 week high of $65.33. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $56.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.95. The company has a market cap of $5.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.11.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.67 by ($0.09). Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.35% and a net margin of 58.69%. The company had revenue of $315.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $313.88 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.64 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Essent Group will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. This is a boost from Essent Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.37%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essent Group

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ESNT. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $69,364,000. Cooke & Bieler LP increased its stake in Essent Group by 45.9% in the 4th quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 2,228,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $121,343,000 after purchasing an additional 700,730 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Essent Group by 43.2% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,709,029 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $93,040,000 after purchasing an additional 515,171 shares during the period. Walleye Capital LLC increased its stake in Essent Group by 144.8% in the 4th quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 846,169 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,065,000 after purchasing an additional 500,494 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Essent Group by 29.3% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,966,171 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $107,038,000 after purchasing an additional 445,012 shares during the period. 93.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essent Group Company Profile

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.