Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Receives $63.71 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the seven research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $63.71.

ESNT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Essent Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $60.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, May 9th. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Essent Group from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, May 9th.

Insider Transactions at Essent Group

In related 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 owned 27,165 shares in the company, valued at $1,624,467. This represents a 9.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 1,999 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was 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 directly owned 251,023 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,061,380. The trade was a 0.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 9,740 shares of company stock worth $581,386. 3.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essent Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ESNT. AdvisorNet Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the first quarter valued at about $46,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Essent Group by 330.6% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,098 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 843 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in Essent Group by 20.2% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,114 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming raised its holdings in Essent Group by 102.0% during the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,687 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $92,000 after acquiring an additional 852 shares in the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essent Group Stock Performance

Shares of ESNT traded up $0.94 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $56.90. The company had a trading volume of 814,397 shares, compared to its average volume of 678,563. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $58.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.33, a P/E/G ratio of 8.17 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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $317.56 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $311.18 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 12.98% and a net margin of 57.29%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.70 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Essent Group will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.