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

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the seven ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com 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 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $62.57.

A number of equities analysts have commented on ESNT shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $67.00 price objective on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays cut shares of Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Essent Group from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Essent Group from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th.

Essent Group Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:ESNT opened at $55.13 on Friday. Essent Group has a 52 week low of $52.22 and a 52 week high of $65.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.06, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.27.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $1.64 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Essent Group will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.25%. This is a boost from Essent Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Essent Group’s payout ratio is 18.13%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essent Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESNT. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Essent Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $69,364,000. Cooke & Bieler LP boosted its position 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 valued at $121,343,000 after buying an additional 700,730 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position 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 valued at $93,040,000 after buying an additional 515,171 shares during the period. Walleye Capital LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $46,065,000 after buying an additional 500,494 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position 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 valued at $107,038,000 after buying an additional 445,012 shares during the period. 93.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Essent Group

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.