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

Key Points

• Essent Group Ltd. has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from eight brokerages, with an average one-year price target of $63.67.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.31, payable on September 10th, representing an annualized dividend yield of 1.9%.
• Essent Group reported strong quarterly earnings, with $1.93 EPS exceeding expectations, driving a revenue of $319.14 million.

Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $63.6667.

Several analysts have issued reports on ESNT shares. Barclays increased their target price on Essent Group from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. DOWLING & PARTN cut Essent Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $60.00 target price on Essent Group in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut Essent Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Compass Point reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, August 8th.

Insider Transactions at Essent Group

In other news, Director William Spiegel sold 6,451 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.74, for a total value of $404,735.74. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 26,252 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,647,050.48. This trade represents a 19.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 3,760 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.00, for a total value of $233,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 247,023 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,315,426. The trade was a 1.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,950 shares of company stock valued at $919,651 in the last quarter. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Essent Group

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ESNT. AdvisorNet Financial Inc acquired a new stake in Essent Group during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Essent Group by 1,765.2% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 429 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 406 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in Essent Group during the 1st quarter worth about $46,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Essent Group by 330.6% during the 1st 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 during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in Essent Group by 20.2% during the 1st 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company's stock.

Essent Group Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE ESNT opened at $63.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. The business's 50 day moving average price is $59.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.00. Essent Group has a fifty-two week low of $51.61 and a fifty-two week high of $65.33. The company has a market cap of $6.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.32, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.86.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $319.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $317.46 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 12.66% and a net margin of 56.36%.Essent Group's quarterly revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.91 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Essent Group will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. 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.

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