Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Analyst Says

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) had its target price raised by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $73.00 to $75.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on Essent Group from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.71.

Essent Group Price Performance

Shares of Essent Group stock opened at $55.16 on Tuesday. Essent Group has a 1 year low of $49.41 and a 1 year high of $65.33. The firm has a market cap of $5.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.99, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a 50-day moving average of $59.17 and a 200 day moving average of $59.56.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.08). Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 60.15%. The business had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $316.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.66 EPS. Essent Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 969.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Essent Group will post 6.95 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.59, for a total transaction of $127,180.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 25,416 shares in the company, valued at $1,616,203.44. This represents a 7.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ESNT. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Essent Group by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,680,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $262,973,000 after purchasing an additional 445,853 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 132.4% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 424,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,294,000 after buying an additional 241,840 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Essent Group by 68.8% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 436,009 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,499,000 after buying an additional 177,700 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Essent Group by 154.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 208,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,431,000 after buying an additional 126,899 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC raised its position in Essent Group by 45.5% in the third quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 345,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,223,000 after acquiring an additional 108,061 shares during the period. 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.