Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.05 EPS

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) posted its earnings results on Friday. The financial services provider reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.70 by ($0.05), Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $316.80 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 61.31% and a return on equity of 14.40%. Essent Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 969.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.66 earnings per share.

Essent Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ESNT traded down $6.24 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $53.77. 1,943,694 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 502,223. Essent Group has a one year low of $47.37 and a one year high of $65.33. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $62.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $59.25. The company has a market cap of $5.71 billion, a PE ratio of 7.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.12.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ESNT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Essent Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Essent Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $65.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Essent Group from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. BTIG Research increased their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Essent Group from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.50.

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.