Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Reaches New 52-Week High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Essent Group Ltd. reached a new 52-week high of $65.72, with a last trading price of $65.63, indicating a strong performance in the market.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on the stock, with four rating it as a buy and four as a hold, while the average price target stands at $63.67.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings jump to $1.93 EPS, surpassing estimates and showing a year-over-year revenue increase of 2.0% to $319.14 million.

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $65.72 and last traded at $65.63, with a volume of 144290 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $63.55.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ESNT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $60.00 price objective on Essent Group in a report on Friday, August 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded Essent Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $60.00 target price on Essent Group and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, DOWLING & PARTN downgraded Essent Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $63.67.

Essent Group Stock Up 1.9%

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 firm has a market cap of $6.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.86. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.36.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.25. Essent Group had a return on equity of 12.66% and a net margin of 56.36%.The company had revenue of $319.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $317.46 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.91 earnings per share. Essent Group's revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 3,760 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.00, for a total transaction of $233,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 247,023 shares in the company, valued at $15,315,426. The trade was a 1.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.33, for a total value of $158,325.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 24,865 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,574,700.45. This represents a 9.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,950 shares of company stock valued at $931,001 over the last ninety days. 2.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essent Group

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp grew 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 buying an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its holdings in Essent Group by 0.5% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 39,301 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,268,000 after buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in Essent Group by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,721 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $215,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in Essent Group by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 21,801 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,324,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Essent Group by 12.5% in the 2nd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,552 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $155,000 after purchasing an additional 284 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.

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