Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Downgraded by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods to Market Perform

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a report published on Monday morning, MarketBeat reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has $67.00 price objective on the financial services provider's stock, up from their previous price objective of $65.00.

ESNT has been the subject of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Essent Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $60.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Compass Point set a $69.00 target price on Essent Group and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, May 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $63.57.

Essent Group Trading Down 3.3%

NYSE ESNT traded down $2.07 on Monday, hitting $59.83. 632,650 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 664,583. The company has a market capitalization of $6.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $58.80 and a 200 day moving average of $57.04. Essent Group has a twelve month low of $51.61 and a twelve month high of $65.34.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 9th. The financial services provider reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $317.56 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $311.18 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 12.98% and a net margin of 57.29%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.70 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Essent Group will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.16%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.79, for a total value of $146,975.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 27,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,608,788.35. This represents a 8.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.80, for a total transaction of $179,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 27,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,624,467. This trade represents a 9.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 9,740 shares of company stock valued at $581,386. 3.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essent Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in 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 increased its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,399,228 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $311,638,000 after purchasing an additional 230,553 shares during the period. Polar Capital Holdings Plc increased its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 14.9% in the 4th quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 2,700,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $146,988,000 after purchasing an additional 350,000 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 2,370,484 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $129,049,000 after purchasing an additional 221,950 shares during the period. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP increased its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 45.9% in the 4th quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 2,228,925 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $121,343,000 after purchasing an additional 700,730 shares during the period. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.