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

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, May 12th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a dividend of 0.31 per share by the financial services provider on Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th.

Essent Group has raised its dividend by an average of 17.0% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 6 years. Essent Group has a payout ratio of 17.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. 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 $0.83 during trading on Friday, hitting $59.87. 630,962 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 640,660. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $56.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.28. The stock has a market cap of $6.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.87. Essent Group has a 12-month low of $51.61 and a 12-month high of $65.34.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 9th. The financial services provider reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.03. Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.35% and a net margin of 58.69%. The business had revenue of $317.56 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $311.18 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.70 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Essent Group will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on ESNT shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, May 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, May 9th. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Essent Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Essent Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $61.71.

Insider Activity

In other Essent Group news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.80, for a total transaction of $179,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 27,165 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,624,467. This trade represents a 9.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 1,777 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.07, for a total value of $106,744.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 253,022 shares in the company, valued at $15,199,031.54. This trade represents a 0.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,001 shares of company stock valued at $299,591 in the last ninety days. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.