Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Given “Outperform” Rating at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada restated their outperform rating on shares of Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) in a report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $67.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock.

ESNT has been the subject of several other reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Essent Group from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays downgraded Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $69.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Essent Group from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essent Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.57.

Essent Group Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE ESNT opened at $56.13 on Tuesday. Essent Group has a 12 month low of $51.93 and a 12 month high of $65.33. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $56.19 and a 200-day moving average of $58.97. The company has a market capitalization of $5.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.11.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued 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). Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.35% and a net margin of 58.69%. The business had revenue of $315.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $313.88 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.64 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Essent Group will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. This is an increase from Essent Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.37%.

Institutional Trading of Essent Group

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 154.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 208,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,431,000 after acquiring an additional 126,899 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 163.4% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 44,676 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,872,000 after acquiring an additional 27,717 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,021,343 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $65,662,000 after acquiring an additional 99,604 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 59,750 shares during the period. Finally, Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 81.9% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 100,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,445,000 after acquiring an additional 45,126 shares during the period. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.