Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Sets New 12-Month High at $64.44

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $64.44 and last traded at $64.27, with a volume of 37265 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.49.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ESNT has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Essent Group from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Barclays boosted their target price on Essent Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Essent Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $65.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on Essent Group from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Essent Group from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Essent Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $64.33.

Essent Group Trading Up 1.1 %

The firm has a market cap of $6.85 billion, a PE ratio of 9.71, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.11. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.04.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.23. Essent Group had a net margin of 61.31% and a return on equity of 14.40%. The business had revenue of $272.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $308.33 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.61 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Vijay Bhasin sold 11,188 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.14, for a total transaction of $672,846.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 199,359 shares in the company, valued at $11,989,450.26. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Roy James Kasmar sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.81, for a total transaction of $294,050.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 27,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,596,103.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Vijay Bhasin sold 11,188 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.14, for a total transaction of $672,846.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 199,359 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,989,450.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essent Group

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ESNT. Advisors Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Essent Group in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 167.1% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 836 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 523 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the second quarter worth approximately $47,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 49.7% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,187 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Essent Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $176,000. Hedge funds and other 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.