Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Price Target Cut to $65.00 by Analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) had its target price decreased by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $71.00 to $65.00 in a report issued on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has an outperform rating on the financial services provider's stock.

ESNT has been the topic of several other research reports. 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. raised Essent Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays downgraded Essent Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $61.71.

Essent Group Stock Up 1.4 %

ESNT traded up $0.77 on Tuesday, hitting $54.96. 648,329 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 630,506. Essent Group has a 12-month low of $51.61 and a 12-month high of $65.34. The company has a 50 day moving average of $56.27 and a 200-day moving average of $57.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.71 billion, a PE ratio of 8.03, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.80.

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Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.67 by ($0.09). Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.35% and a net margin of 58.69%. The company had revenue of $315.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $313.88 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.64 EPS. Essent Group's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Essent Group will post 6.88 EPS for the current 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 dividend of $0.31 per share. This is a positive change from Essent Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Essent Group's payout ratio is 18.13%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essent Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. AdvisorNet Financial Inc acquired a new stake in Essent Group in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Essent Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its holdings in Essent Group by 68.8% during the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 584 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in Essent Group by 53.3% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,125 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Essent Group during the fourth quarter worth about $63,000. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.