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

Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the seven ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $63.71.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, May 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded shares of Essent Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $65.00 to $67.00 in a report on Monday, July 7th. Compass Point set a $69.00 target price on shares of Essent Group and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Essent Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $60.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Essent Group from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th.

Essent Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ESNT opened at $55.69 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $58.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $57.21. The company has a market capitalization of $5.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.15, a P/E/G ratio of 8.19 and a beta of 0.81. Essent Group has a 1 year low of $51.61 and a 1 year high of $65.34.

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

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Essent Group news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 1,999 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $119,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 251,023 shares in the company, valued at $15,061,380. The trade was a 0.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.79, for a total transaction of $146,975.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 27,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,608,788.35. This trade represents a 8.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,740 shares of company stock worth $581,386 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.90% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essent Group

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ESNT. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the 4th quarter worth $2,456,000. Swiss National Bank lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 208,991 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $11,377,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the 4th quarter worth $326,000. Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the 4th quarter worth $532,000. Finally, Xponance Inc. lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 14,915 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $812,000 after purchasing an additional 619 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

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