Brokerages Set Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) PT at $66.50

Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $66.50.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ESNT shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Essent Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $65.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Essent Group from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Essent Group from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. BTIG Research raised their price target on Essent Group from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Essent Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th.

Essent Group Price Performance

NYSE ESNT opened at $61.77 on Thursday. Essent Group has a fifty-two week low of $45.63 and a fifty-two week high of $65.33. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $63.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.03. The firm has a market cap of $6.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.12.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The financial services provider reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.23. Essent Group had a return on equity of 14.40% and a net margin of 61.31%. The business had revenue of $272.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $308.33 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.61 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Essent Group will post 7.02 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Essent Group news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.59, for a total value of $127,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 25,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,616,203.44. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Essent Group news, Director Roy James Kasmar sold 5,000 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.81, for a total transaction of $294,050.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 27,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,596,103.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.59, for a total value of $127,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 25,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,616,203.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Essent Group

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Diversified Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $725,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Essent Group by 38.7% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 177,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,542,000 after buying an additional 49,393 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Essent Group during the first quarter worth about $780,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the first quarter worth approximately $977,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Essent Group by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,477,434 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $605,320,000 after acquiring an additional 75,825 shares during the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by 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.