Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seven research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $62.57.

ESNT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays lowered shares of Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 target price on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Essent Group from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th.

Essent Group Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of ESNT opened at $56.79 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $5.90 billion, a PE ratio of 8.30, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.11. Essent Group has a 12-month low of $52.15 and a 12-month high of $65.33. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $56.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.89.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.67 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $315.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $313.88 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 58.69% and a return on equity of 13.35%. The business’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.64 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Essent Group will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Essent Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.13%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essent Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ESNT. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,367,101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $673,265,000 after acquiring an additional 432,034 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Essent Group by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,168,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $281,382,000 after purchasing an additional 200,284 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Essent Group by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,206,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $270,425,000 after buying an additional 59,750 shares in the last quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc increased its holdings in Essent Group by 14.9% in the 4th quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 2,700,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $146,988,000 after acquiring an additional 350,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 2,370,484 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $129,049,000 after purchasing an additional 221,950 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

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.