Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Upgraded by Royal Bank Of Canada to “Hold” Rating

Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $68.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. UBS Group dropped their price target on Essent Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Essent Group from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Essent Group from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.86.

Essent Group Stock Performance

Shares of Essent Group stock opened at $60.90 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.61 billion, a PE ratio of 8.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.32. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.80. Essent Group has a one year low of $55.22 and a one year high of $67.09.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.14. Essent Group had a net margin of 53.64% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The business had revenue of $336.07 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $297.56 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.69 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Essent Group will post 7.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Essent Group’s payout ratio is presently 19.94%.

Insider Transactions at Essent Group

In other news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 4,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.01, for a total transaction of $276,292.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 233,336 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,169,173.36. The trade was a 1.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark Casale sold 13,064 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.05, for a total value of $849,813.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,218,480 shares in the company, valued at $144,312,124. The trade was a 0.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 25,814 shares of company stock worth $1,661,682 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essent Group

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Essent Group by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,987,945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $779,336,000 after buying an additional 85,295 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Essent Group by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,076,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $206,628,000 after buying an additional 129,672 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Essent Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $155,516,000. Cooke & Bieler LP boosted its position in Essent Group by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,952,006 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $126,900,000 after buying an additional 13,318 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Essent Group by 43.7% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,864,067 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $121,183,000 after buying an additional 567,103 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

About Essent Group

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.