Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) had its price objective decreased by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $75.00 to $72.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has an outperform rating on the financial services provider's stock.
Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target 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. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target 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 shares of Essent Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $69.00 to $58.00 in a report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $62.71.
Get Our Latest Research Report on ESNT
Essent Group Price Performance
NYSE ESNT traded up $0.82 on Wednesday, reaching $55.01. 984,966 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 651,033. The stock has a market cap of $5.84 billion, a PE ratio of 7.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.11. Essent Group has a 12 month low of $50.65 and a 12 month high of $65.33. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.27.
Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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). Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 60.15%. The company had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $316.80 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.66 earnings per share. Essent Group's revenue was up 969.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Essent Group will post 6.94 EPS for the current year.
Essent Group Announces Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.04%. Essent Group's payout ratio is currently 16.23%.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essent Group
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 11.3% in the 2nd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 11,174 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $628,000 after acquiring an additional 1,138 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in Essent Group by 2.0% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 29,919 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,681,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Essent Group by 4.3% during the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 15,254 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $857,000 after buying an additional 629 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Essent Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $176,000. Finally, Choreo LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the second quarter worth approximately $287,000. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
About Essent Group
(
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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.
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