Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $66.50.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ESNT. Barclays increased their price objective on Essent Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Essent Group from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Essent Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $65.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, BTIG Research increased their price target on Essent Group from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th.

Essent Group Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE:ESNT opened at $62.41 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $63.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.98. Essent Group has a 52 week low of $45.63 and a 52 week high of $65.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.44, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.12.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.23. Essent Group had a net margin of 61.31% and a return on equity of 14.40%. The company had revenue of $272.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $308.33 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.61 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Essent Group will post 7.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.59, for a total transaction of $127,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 25,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,616,203.44. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.59, for a total transaction of $127,180.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 25,416 shares in the company, valued at $1,616,203.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Roy James Kasmar sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.81, for a total value of $294,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 27,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,596,103.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Diversified Trust Co acquired a new stake in Essent Group during the second quarter worth about $725,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 38.7% during 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 buying an additional 49,393 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $780,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in Essent Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $977,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Essent Group by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,477,434 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $605,320,000 after acquiring an additional 75,825 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

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.