Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $62.57.

ESNT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays lowered shares of Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 price target on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Essent Group from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Essent Group from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essent Group

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Forum Financial Management LP grew its stake in shares of Essent Group by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 3,912 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $213,000 after buying an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. grew its stake in Essent Group by 39.2% during the 4th quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 40,453 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,202,000 after purchasing an additional 11,397 shares in the last quarter. GTS Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Essent Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $236,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the 4th quarter worth about $5,216,000. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its stake in shares of Essent Group by 24.2% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 15,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $866,000 after purchasing an additional 3,100 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE:ESNT opened at $56.79 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.30, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.11. Essent Group has a 12 month low of $52.15 and a 12 month high of $65.33. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.89.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $315.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $313.88 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.35% and a net margin of 58.69%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.64 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Essent Group will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. This is an increase from Essent Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.13%.

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.