Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Given New $63.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) had its price target increased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $62.00 to $63.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on ESNT. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Essent Group from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and upped their target price for the company from $65.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Monday. Barclays upped their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Essent Group from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essent Group presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $62.63.

Essent Group Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:ESNT traded up $0.44 during trading on Monday, reaching $59.01. 426,824 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 520,070. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.96. The firm has a market cap of $6.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.11. Essent Group has a 1-year low of $45.63 and a 1-year high of $64.05.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The financial services provider reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $272.90 million for 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.61 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Essent Group will post 6.69 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.94%.

Insider Transactions at Essent Group

In related news, SVP Vijay Bhasin sold 11,188 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.14, for a total transaction of $672,846.32. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 199,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,989,450.26. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Essent Group news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.12, for a total value of $140,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly 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 SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Vijay Bhasin sold 11,188 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 199,359 shares in the company, valued at $11,989,450.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essent Group

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 38.7% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 177,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,542,000 after purchasing an additional 49,393 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the 1st quarter valued at $780,000. Fairman Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the 4th quarter valued at $6,195,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the 1st quarter valued at $977,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Essent Group by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,477,434 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $605,320,000 after acquiring an additional 75,825 shares in the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.