Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Reaches New 1-Year Low on Analyst Downgrade

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week low on Tuesday after Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on the stock from $71.00 to $65.00. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Essent Group traded as low as $52.06 and last traded at $52.79, with a volume of 1223921 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $54.49.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Essent Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $60.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $67.00 price objective on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Essent Group currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.71.

Institutional Trading of Essent Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Essent Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the 1st quarter worth $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 last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in Essent Group by 53.3% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,125 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Essent Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $63,000. Institutional investors own 93.00% of the company's stock.

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Essent Group Stock Up 1.4 %

The stock has a market cap of $5.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $57.30.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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). Essent Group had a net margin of 58.69% and a return on equity of 13.35%. The company had revenue of $315.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $313.88 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.64 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. This is a boost from Essent Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.13%.

Essent Group Company Profile

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.