Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Receives $61.71 Average Price Target from Analysts

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $61.71.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ESNT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Essent Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 price objective on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Essent Group from $71.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th.

Essent Group Price Performance

ESNT stock opened at $58.35 on Monday. Essent Group has a one year low of $51.61 and a one year high of $65.34. The stock has a market cap of $6.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $55.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $56.42.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced 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). The company had revenue of $315.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $313.88 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.35% and a net margin of 58.69%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.64 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Essent Group will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. This is an increase from Essent Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.13%.

Institutional Trading of Essent Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Essent Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of Essent Group in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 68.8% during the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 53.3% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,125 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Essent Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $63,000. Institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

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.