Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.23 EPS

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) announced its earnings results on Friday. The financial services provider reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.23, Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $272.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $308.33 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 61.40% and a return on equity of 14.24%. Essent Group’s revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.61 EPS.

Essent Group Price Performance

Essent Group stock traded down $1.30 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $59.95. 743,871 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 561,035. Essent Group has a 52-week low of $45.63 and a 52-week high of $64.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.11. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $57.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.90.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. Essent Group’s payout ratio is currently 16.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ESNT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Essent Group from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $59.88.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.12, for a total transaction of $140,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 27,112 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,521,525.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 2,500 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.12, for a total transaction of $140,300.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 27,112 shares in the company, valued at $1,521,525.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Vijay Bhasin sold 11,188 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.14, for a total transaction of $672,846.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 199,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,989,450.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.90% 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.