Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Given New $67.00 Price Target at Royal Bank of Canada

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) had its price objective decreased by Royal Bank of Canada from $73.00 to $67.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Essent Group from $68.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Barclays dropped their price target on Essent Group from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. BTIG Research lifted their target price on Essent Group from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Essent Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $65.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.00.

Essent Group Price Performance

Essent Group stock opened at $56.43 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.34. Essent Group has a one year low of $47.56 and a one year high of $65.33. The company has a market capitalization of $6.00 billion, a PE ratio of 8.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.12.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.08). Essent Group had a net margin of 60.15% and a return on equity of 13.81%. The business had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $316.80 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.66 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 969.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Essent Group will post 7.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.23%.

Insider Transactions at Essent Group

In other news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.59, for a total value of $127,180.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 25,416 shares in the company, valued at $1,616,203.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Essent Group by 3.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,917,819 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $709,229,000 after acquiring an additional 440,385 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Essent Group by 10.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,680,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $262,973,000 after acquiring an additional 445,853 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Essent Group by 94.1% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 739,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,019,000 after acquiring an additional 358,621 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Essent Group by 68.8% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 436,009 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,499,000 after acquiring an additional 177,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in Essent Group by 1.0% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 361,028 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,286,000 after acquiring an additional 3,507 shares in the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Essent Group

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.