Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) released its earnings results on Friday. The financial services provider reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.08), Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $316.80 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 60.15%. Essent Group's quarterly revenue was up 969.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.66 EPS.

Essent Group Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of Essent Group stock opened at $54.11 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.75 billion, a PE ratio of 7.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.12. Essent Group has a 52 week low of $47.56 and a 52 week high of $65.33. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $62.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.36.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Essent Group news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.59, for a total value of $127,180.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 25,416 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,616,203.44. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ESNT has been the subject of several research reports. 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. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Barclays reduced their price objective on Essent Group from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Essent Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the company from $65.00 to $70.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Essent Group from $68.00 to $67.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Essent Group currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $65.83.

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.