UBS Group Raises Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Price Target to $58.00

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) had its price objective boosted by UBS Group from $57.00 to $58.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Essent Group from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Essent Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. StockNews.com lowered Essent Group from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Essent Group from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and upped their target price for the company from $58.00 to $61.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $59.25.

Essent Group Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of ESNT stock opened at $56.21 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.00 billion, a PE ratio of 8.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.05. Essent Group has a 52-week low of $43.27 and a 52-week high of $59.90. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $55.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.38.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 3rd. The financial services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $298.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $298.69 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 14.24% and a net margin of 61.40%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.59 EPS. Analysts expect that Essent Group will post 6.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. Essent Group’s payout ratio is 16.94%.

Insider Transactions at Essent Group

In related news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.12, for a total value of $140,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 27,112 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,521,525.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Essent Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESNT. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Essent Group in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Essent Group in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Essent Group in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Essent Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $77,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in Essent Group by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,543 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.