Brokerages Set Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Price Target at $65.00

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $65.00.

ESNT has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Essent Group from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th.

Essent Group Trading Down 0.3 %

Essent Group stock opened at $56.88 on Monday. Essent Group has a 12 month low of $47.56 and a 12 month high of $65.33. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $61.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.43. The company has a market capitalization of $6.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.12.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $316.80 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 60.15% and a return on equity of 13.81%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 969.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.66 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Essent Group will post 6.95 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 25,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,616,203.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Essent Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Essent Group by 3.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,917,819 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $709,229,000 after buying an additional 440,385 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Essent Group by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,680,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $262,973,000 after acquiring an additional 445,853 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Essent Group by 0.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,551,145 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $99,723,000 after purchasing an additional 12,431 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 1.4% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 750,778 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,268,000 after purchasing an additional 10,684 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 68.8% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 436,009 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,499,000 after purchasing an additional 177,700 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

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.