Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $62.57.

A number of research firms have weighed in on ESNT. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $67.00 price objective on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays cut shares of Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday.

Essent Group Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Essent Group stock opened at $56.33 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $56.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.02. Essent Group has a twelve month low of $51.69 and a twelve month high of $65.33. The stock has a market cap of $5.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.11.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by ($0.09). Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 60.15%. The business had revenue of $315.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $313.88 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.64 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Essent Group will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is a boost from Essent Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.23%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essent Group

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Essent Group during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Essent Group during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its stake in Essent Group by 68.8% during the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in Essent Group by 53.3% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,125 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares during the period. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Essent Group during the fourth quarter worth about $63,000. 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.