Brokerages Set Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Price Target at $63.67

Key Points

• Essent Group Ltd. has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with four out of seven recommending to buy the stock.
• The company reported $1.93 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations and reflecting a 2.0% year-over-year revenue growth.
• Essent Group declared a quarterly dividend of $0.31, resulting in an annualized yield of 2.0% and a payout ratio of 18.10%.

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the eight research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $63.6667.

A number of analysts have commented on ESNT shares. Compass Point reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, August 8th. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Essent Group and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, DOWLING & PARTN cut shares of Essent Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday.

Insider Activity at Essent Group

In related news, Director William Spiegel sold 6,451 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.74, for a total value of $404,735.74. Following the transaction, the director owned 26,252 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,647,050.48. This trade represents a 19.73% decrease in their position. The sale 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 3,760 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.00, for a total transaction of $233,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 247,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,315,426. The trade was a 1.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,950 shares of company stock valued at $919,651. 2.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essent Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Essent Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $993,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its stake in shares of Essent Group by 280.5% during the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 10,328 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $596,000 after purchasing an additional 7,614 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $332,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Essent Group by 16.6% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,111 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $468,000 after purchasing an additional 1,157 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Essent Group by 66.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,953 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 778 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company's stock.

Essent Group Trading Down 1.6%

ESNT traded down $0.98 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $61.84. 561,815 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 756,027. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.09 billion, a PE ratio of 9.03, a P/E/G ratio of 8.75 and a beta of 0.82. The stock's 50-day moving average is $58.56 and its 200 day moving average is $57.45. Essent Group has a 12 month low of $51.61 and a 12 month high of $65.33.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $319.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $317.46 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 56.36% and a return on equity of 12.66%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.91 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Essent Group will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.10%.

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.