Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $61.71.

ESNT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays cut shares of Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $69.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Essent Group from $71.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Essent Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 target price on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th.

Essent Group Price Performance

NYSE:ESNT opened at $55.53 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $5.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.12, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.80. Essent Group has a 1 year low of $51.61 and a 1 year high of $65.34. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $56.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $57.42.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share 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 business 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 firm posted $1.64 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Essent Group will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is a boost from Essent Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.13%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essent Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ESNT. NFC Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. NFC Investments LLC now owns 56,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,086,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $129,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its holdings in Essent Group by 68.8% during the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its stake in Essent Group by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 6,988 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $380,000 after buying an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Essent Group by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 47,469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,584,000 after buying an additional 287 shares during the period. 93.00% of the stock is owned by 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.