Essent Group (ESNT) Set to Announce Earnings on Friday

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) is scheduled to issue its quarterly earnings data before the market opens on Friday, May 3rd. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $1.56 per share for the quarter. Persons that are interested in participating in the company’s earnings conference call can do so using this link.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The financial services provider reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.05. Essent Group had a net margin of 62.75% and a return on equity of 14.44%. The firm had revenue of $297.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $286.18 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.37 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 29.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect Essent Group to post $7 EPS for the current fiscal year and $7 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Essent Group Price Performance

Shares of ESNT opened at $52.92 on Wednesday. Essent Group has a 1-year low of $40.33 and a 1-year high of $59.90. The stock has a market cap of $5.66 billion, a PE ratio of 8.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $55.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.41.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were issued a $0.28 dividend. This is an increase from Essent Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 12th. Essent Group’s payout ratio is presently 17.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Essent Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $58.00 to $61.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Essent Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Essent Group from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $58.38.

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.