Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Given New $71.00 Price Target at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) had its target price lowered by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $72.00 to $71.00 in a report issued on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

ESNT has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Barclays cut shares of Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Essent Group from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essent Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.57.

Essent Group Price Performance

Shares of ESNT stock opened at $56.33 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $5.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $56.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $59.02. Essent Group has a one year low of $51.69 and a one year high of $65.33.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $315.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $313.88 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 60.15% and a return on equity of 13.81%. The business’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.64 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Essent Group will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. This is a positive change from Essent Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.23%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essent Group

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 68.8% during the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 53.3% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,125 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $63,000. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.