Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.35

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of 0.35 per share by the financial services provider on Monday, March 23rd. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This is a 12.9% increase from Essent Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31.

Essent Group has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.3%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 6 consecutive years. Essent Group has a dividend payout ratio of 17.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Essent Group to earn $7.20 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.24 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 17.2%.

Essent Group Stock Down 6.3%

Shares of Essent Group stock traded down $4.12 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $61.52. The company had a trading volume of 1,506,439 shares, compared to its average volume of 708,051. Essent Group has a 52-week low of $51.61 and a 52-week high of $67.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 1.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.96, a P/E/G ratio of 4.15 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a 50 day moving average of $63.76 and a 200 day moving average of $62.29.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 13th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by ($0.14). Essent Group had a net margin of 55.63% and a return on equity of 12.40%. The company had revenue of $312.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $312.62 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.58 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Essent Group will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ESNT. Roth Mkm upped their price target on shares of Essent Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Monday, December 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Essent Group from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Essent Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.29.

Essent Group Company Profile

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE: ESNT) is a publicly traded insurance holding company specializing in private mortgage insurance and mortgage reinsurance solutions. Through its primary subsidiary, Essent Guaranty, the company provides credit protection to mortgage lenders, helping mitigate the risk of borrower default on residential mortgage loans. Essent’s insurance policies enable lenders to offer low-down-payment programs, supporting homebuyers in achieving homeownership with reduced upfront equity requirements.

Beyond traditional mortgage insurance, Essent offers a suite of risk management and analytics services designed to help financial institutions monitor and manage mortgage portfolios.