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. It serves the originators of residential mortgage loans, such as regulated depository institutions, mortgage banks, credit unions, and other lenders. The company was founded in 2008 and is based in Hamilton, Bermuda.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several research firms have weighed in on ESNT. BTIG Research lowered their price target on Essent Group to $54.00 in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Essent Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $47.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, April 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $54.00.
Essent Group Stock Down 1.9 %
Shares of NYSE:ESNT traded down $0.82 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $41.87. 455,498 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 637,168. The company has a market capitalization of $4.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.18. Essent Group has a 52-week low of $35.53 and a 52-week high of $50.17. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $40.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.68.
Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.65. The company had revenue of $244.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $244.29 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 21.13% and a net margin of 85.02%. Essent Group's revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.42 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Essent Group will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Essent Group Increases Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.10%. This is a boost from Essent Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 31st. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.29%.
Insider Activity at Essent Group
In related news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 2,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.75, for a total transaction of $100,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 26,630 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,111,802.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.