Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.28

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, May 2nd, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be given a dividend of 0.28 per share by the financial services provider on Monday, June 10th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st.

Essent Group has increased its dividend payment by an average of 16.0% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 5 years. Essent Group has a dividend payout ratio of 15.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Essent Group to earn $7.17 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.12 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 15.6%.

Essent Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESNT traded up $0.26 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $54.54. 555,660 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 491,395. The stock has a market cap of $5.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.05. Essent Group has a fifty-two week low of $40.33 and a fifty-two week high of $59.90. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $55.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $52.49.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The financial services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.14. Essent Group had a net margin of 62.75% and a return on equity of 14.44%. The business had revenue of $298.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $298.69 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.59 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Essent Group will post 6.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ESNT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Essent Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. StockNews.com lowered Essent Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Essent Group from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Essent Group from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $58.00 to $61.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Essent Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $58.38.

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.