Roth Capital Has Negative View of Essent Group Q1 Earnings

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) - Equities researchers at Roth Capital lowered their Q1 2025 earnings per share estimates for Essent Group in a research report issued on Tuesday, February 18th. Roth Capital analyst H. Fong now forecasts that the financial services provider will earn $1.62 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $1.68. The consensus estimate for Essent Group's current full-year earnings is $6.88 per share. Roth Capital also issued estimates for Essent Group's Q2 2025 earnings at $1.66 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.70 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.72 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $6.70 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $1.70 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $1.74 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.77 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $1.80 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $7.00 EPS.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.67 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $315.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $313.88 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.35% and a net margin of 58.69%. Essent Group's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.64 EPS.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $67.00 price objective on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Essent Group from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays downgraded shares of Essent Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $69.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Essent Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $62.57.

Essent Group Stock Up 0.1 %

ESNT traded up $0.07 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $56.16. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,251,707 shares, compared to its average volume of 827,630. Essent Group has a one year low of $51.99 and a one year high of $65.33. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $56.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.95. The firm has a market cap of $5.96 billion, a PE ratio of 8.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.11.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essent Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 154.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 208,927 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $13,431,000 after purchasing an additional 126,899 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in Essent Group by 163.4% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 44,676 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,872,000 after purchasing an additional 27,717 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Essent Group by 10.8% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,021,343 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $65,662,000 after buying an additional 99,604 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Essent Group by 1.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,206,325 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $270,425,000 after buying an additional 59,750 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 81.9% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 100,253 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,445,000 after buying an additional 45,126 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company's stock.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. This is a positive change from Essent Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Essent Group's payout ratio is presently 16.37%.

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.