Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.14 EPS

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) announced its earnings results on Friday. The financial services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.14, Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $298.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $298.69 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 62.75% and a return on equity of 14.44%. Essent Group’s revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.59 earnings per share.

Essent Group Price Performance

Shares of ESNT stock traded up $0.26 on Friday, hitting $54.54. 555,660 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 491,395. The company’s fifty day moving average is $55.11 and its 200 day moving average is $52.43. Essent Group has a 1-year low of $40.33 and a 1-year high of $59.90. The company has a market capitalization of $5.83 billion, a PE ratio of 8.39, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.05.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on ESNT. StockNews.com cut Essent Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Essent Group from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $58.00 to $61.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average 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.