Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Key Points

• Essent Group reported a quarterly EPS of $1.93, outperforming estimates by $0.25 and achieving a revenue of $319.14 million, which also exceeded expectations.
• The company's stock rose 6.0% following the earnings report, with shares trading at $60.43, and it recently announced a $0.31 quarterly dividend for shareholders.
• Wall Street analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $63.67, indicating potential growth for Essent Group's stock.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday. The financial services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.25, Zacks reports. 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $317.46 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.91 EPS. Essent Group's revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

Essent Group Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE ESNT traded up $0.23 on Wednesday, reaching $62.26. 42,265 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 753,563. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.24. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $58.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $57.38. The company has a market cap of $6.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.09, a PEG ratio of 8.72 and a beta of 0.82. Essent Group has a 12 month low of $51.61 and a 12 month high of $65.33.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Essent Group's payout ratio is 18.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essent Group

In related news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.79, for a total transaction of $146,975.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 27,365 shares in the company, valued at $1,608,788.35. The trade was a 8.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 1,999 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $119,940.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 251,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,061,380. The trade was a 0.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 4,739 shares of company stock valued at $281,795. Corporate insiders own 3.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on ESNT shares. Compass Point restated a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $60.00 price objective on Essent Group and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, May 9th. DOWLING & PARTN lowered Essent Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essent Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $63.67.

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.