Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Receives $64.71 Average Target Price from Analysts

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $64.71.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Essent Group from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Essent Group from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th.

Essent Group Price Performance

NYSE:ESNT opened at $54.48 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $55.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.26. Essent Group has a 1-year low of $50.65 and a 1-year high of $65.33. The firm has a market cap of $5.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.09.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $316.80 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.66 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 969.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Essent Group will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.23%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ESNT. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Essent Group by 154.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 208,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,431,000 after purchasing an additional 126,899 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 445,853 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in Essent Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $605,000. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in shares of Essent Group by 163.4% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 44,676 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,872,000 after acquiring an additional 27,717 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group during the 2nd quarter worth $526,000. 93.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essent Group Company Profile

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.