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

Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $63.29.

Several brokerages have commented on ESNT. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Essent Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $60.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th.

Insider Activity at Essent Group

In related news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.79, for a total value of $146,975.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,608,788.35. This represents a 8.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 1,777 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,501 shares of company stock worth $446,566. 3.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Essent Group

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. NFC Investments LLC grew its position in Essent Group by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. NFC Investments LLC now owns 56,688 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,086,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its position in Essent Group by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,363 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $129,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Essent Group by 20.2% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,114 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in Essent Group by 0.5% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 39,301 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,268,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Essent Group by 5.7% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,721 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $215,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Essent Group Stock Performance

ESNT opened at $61.09 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $57.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.64. Essent Group has a twelve month low of $51.61 and a twelve month high of $65.34. The firm has a market cap of $6.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.81.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 9th. The financial services provider reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $317.56 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $311.18 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 12.98% and a net margin of 57.29%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.70 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Essent Group will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th were paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. Essent Group's payout ratio is 18.16%.

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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