Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Receives $63.29 Average PT from Analysts

Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $63.29.

Several analysts recently issued reports on ESNT shares. Compass Point set a $69.00 price target on Essent Group and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. 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 report on Tuesday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, May 9th.

Essent Group Stock Performance

Shares of ESNT stock traded down $0.24 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $58.01. The company had a trading volume of 679,681 shares, compared to its average volume of 645,689. Essent Group has a twelve month low of $51.61 and a twelve month high of $65.34. The company has a market capitalization of $5.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.87. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $56.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.44.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.03. The business 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 13.35% and a net margin of 58.69%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.70 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Essent Group will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Essent Group's payout ratio is currently 18.16%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 1,777 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.07, for a total transaction of $106,744.39. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 253,022 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,199,031.54. This trade represents a 0.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.80, for a total transaction of $179,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 27,165 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,624,467. This represents a 9.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,001 shares of company stock valued at $299,591. Insiders own 3.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Essent Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,367,101 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $673,265,000 after buying an additional 432,034 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,399,228 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $311,638,000 after buying an additional 230,553 shares during the period. Polar Capital Holdings Plc lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 2,700,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $146,988,000 after buying an additional 350,000 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 2,370,484 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $129,049,000 after buying an additional 221,950 shares during the period. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 45.9% during the 4th quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 2,228,925 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $121,343,000 after buying an additional 700,730 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.00% of the company's stock.

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.