Brokerages Set Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Price Target at $64.33

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $64.33.

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Essent Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $65.00 to $70.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. BTIG Research upped their price objective on Essent Group from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Essent Group from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Barclays upped their target price on Essent Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Essent Group from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Vijay Bhasin sold 11,188 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.14, for a total transaction of $672,846.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 199,359 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,989,450.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Essent Group news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.59, for a total value of $127,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 25,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,616,203.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Vijay Bhasin sold 11,188 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.14, for a total transaction of $672,846.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 199,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,989,450.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,188 shares of company stock worth $1,094,076 in the last three months. 2.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essent Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESNT. Advisors Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the first quarter worth $32,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the second quarter worth $47,000. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Essent Group by 167.1% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 836 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 523 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Essent Group by 49.7% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,187 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 394 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the second quarter worth $176,000. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essent Group Trading Down 1.2 %

ESNT stock opened at $63.43 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.77 billion, a PE ratio of 9.60, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.12. Essent Group has a 1-year low of $45.63 and a 1-year high of $65.33. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.13.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $272.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $308.33 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 14.40% and a net margin of 61.31%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.61 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Essent Group will post 7.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. Essent Group’s payout ratio is currently 16.94%.

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.