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

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the seven ratings firms that are presently 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 issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $65.00.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Essent Group from $68.00 to $67.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Essent Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $65.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, BTIG Research upped their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th.

Essent Group Trading Up 1.3 %

ESNT traded up $0.73 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $56.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,168,539 shares, compared to its average volume of 519,148. Essent Group has a fifty-two week low of $47.56 and a fifty-two week high of $65.33. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.95 billion, a PE ratio of 8.01, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.12.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $316.80 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 60.15% and a return on equity of 13.81%. The company's revenue was up 969.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.66 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Essent Group will post 6.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. Essent Group's payout ratio is 16.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essent Group

In other Essent Group news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 25,416 shares in the company, valued at $1,616,203.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Essent Group

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Diversified Trust Co bought a new stake in Essent Group during the second quarter worth approximately $725,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Essent Group by 38.7% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 177,127 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,542,000 after buying an additional 49,393 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Essent Group during the 1st quarter worth $780,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the first quarter worth $977,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Essent Group by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,917,819 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $709,229,000 after purchasing an additional 440,385 shares during the last quarter. 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.