Essent Group Ltd. Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.31 (NYSE:ESNT)

Key Points

• Essent Group Ltd. announced a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share, payable on September 10th to shareholders of record as of August 29th.
• The company reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.93 for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations by $0.25, with revenue up 2.0% year-over-year to $319.14 million.
• Research analysts have assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Essent Group's stock, with an average price target of $63.67.

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, August 8th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a dividend of 0.31 per share by the financial services provider on Wednesday, September 10th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%.

Essent Group has a dividend payout ratio of 17.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Essent Group to earn $7.20 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.24 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 17.2%.

Essent Group Price Performance

Shares of Essent Group stock traded up $1.05 during trading on Friday, hitting $58.07. 33,932 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 749,366. The stock has a market cap of $5.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.45 and a beta of 0.82. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $58.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $57.32. Essent Group has a 12-month low of $51.61 and a 12-month high of $65.33.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.25. Essent Group had a net margin of 57.29% and a return on equity of 12.98%. The firm had revenue of $319.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $317.46 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.91 EPS. The company's revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Essent Group will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ESNT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $60.00 price target on Essent Group and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of Essent Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $60.00 target price on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday. Compass Point restated a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Essent Group from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $63.67.

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.

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