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

Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $62.57.

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $67.00 target price on shares of Essent Group in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Essent Group from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays lowered Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $69.00 to $58.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Essent Group from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th.

Essent Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ESNT opened at $55.51 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.09. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $56.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.13. Essent Group has a 52 week low of $52.22 and a 52 week high of $65.34.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $315.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $313.88 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 58.69% and a return on equity of 13.35%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.64 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Essent Group will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. This is an increase from Essent Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.13%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essent Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Essent Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 68.8% during the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 53.3% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,125 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 391 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Essent Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 53.9% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $88,000 after buying an additional 477 shares during the period. 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.