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

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the seven analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $62.71.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ESNT. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays downgraded Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Essent Group from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Essent Group from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, 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.

Essent Group Price Performance

Shares of ESNT opened at $57.54 on Friday. Essent Group has a 12-month low of $50.65 and a 12-month high of $65.33. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $55.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $59.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.11 billion, a PE ratio of 8.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.11.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.08). Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 60.15%. The company had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $316.80 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.66 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 969.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Essent Group will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.23%.

Institutional Trading of Essent Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Essent Group by 726.8% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 463 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 167.1% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 836 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 523 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Essent Group by 53.9% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $88,000 after buying an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.