Analysts Set Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Price Target at $59.38

Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the seven research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $59.88.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ESNT shares. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Essent Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Essent Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target 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. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Essent Group from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd.

Essent Group Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of Essent Group stock opened at $59.83 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $56.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $55.09. Essent Group has a 1-year low of $45.63 and a 1-year high of $60.42. The company has a market cap of $6.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.05, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.11.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The financial services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.14. Essent Group had a return on equity of 14.24% and a net margin of 61.40%. The business had revenue of $298.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $298.69 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.59 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Essent Group will post 6.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st were issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 31st. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.94%.

Insider Activity at Essent Group

In other news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were 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 owns 27,112 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,521,525.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essent Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Essent Group in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in Essent Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Essent Group by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,543 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in Essent Group in the fourth quarter worth about $126,000. Hedge funds and other 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.