Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $62.57.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays lowered Essent Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $69.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Essent Group from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Essent Group from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $67.00 target price on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Tuesday.

Essent Group Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of ESNT traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $56.16. 1,251,707 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 827,621. Essent Group has a 1-year low of $51.99 and a 1-year high of $65.33. The company has a market capitalization of $5.96 billion, a PE ratio of 8.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a 50 day moving average of $56.21 and a 200 day moving average of $58.95.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.67 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $315.00 million for 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 revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.64 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Essent Group will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. 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 is currently 16.37%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. NFC Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Essent Group by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. NFC Investments LLC now owns 56,688 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,086,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Essent Group by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,363 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $129,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its stake 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. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its stake in shares of Essent Group by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 6,988 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $380,000 after buying an additional 242 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Essent Group by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 47,469 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,584,000 after buying an additional 287 shares during the period. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.