Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Receives $62.57 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $62.57.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ESNT. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective 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 lowered shares of Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Essent Group from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $67.00 price target on shares of Essent Group in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Essent Group from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th.

Essent Group Stock Up 0.1 %

ESNT stock opened at $56.16 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $56.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.93. The stock has a market cap of $5.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.21, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.11. Essent Group has a twelve month low of $51.99 and a twelve month high of $65.33.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $313.88 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.64 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Essent Group will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. This is an increase from Essent Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.37%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essent Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ESNT. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 163.4% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 44,676 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,872,000 after buying an additional 27,717 shares in the last quarter. BayBridge Capital Group LLC raised its position in Essent Group by 5.7% during the third quarter. BayBridge Capital Group LLC now owns 8,077 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $519,000 after acquiring an additional 434 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its holdings in Essent Group by 7.2% during the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 12,366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $795,000 after purchasing an additional 835 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Essent Group by 40.0% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 65,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,022,000 after purchasing an additional 18,597 shares during the period. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.