Brokerages Set Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Price Target at $62.71

Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $62.71.

A number of research analysts recently commented on ESNT shares. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Essent Group from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Essent Group from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Barclays lowered shares of Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $69.00 to $58.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th.

Essent Group Price Performance

NYSE ESNT opened at $58.57 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $55.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.36. The company has a market capitalization of $6.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.49, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.11. Essent Group has a 12 month low of $50.65 and a 12 month high of $65.33.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.08). Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 60.15%. The firm had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $316.80 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.66 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 969.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Essent Group will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Essent Group’s payout ratio is 16.23%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essent Group

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ESNT. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Essent Group by 726.8% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 463 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Essent Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Quarry LP raised its holdings in Essent Group by 167.1% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 836 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 523 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Essent Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Essent Group by 53.9% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $88,000 after buying an additional 477 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.