Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Price Target Increased to $58.00 by Analysts at UBS Group

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) had its price objective upped by UBS Group from $57.00 to $58.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on ESNT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Essent Group from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and upped their target price for the company from $58.00 to $61.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Essent Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Essent Group from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $59.25.

Essent Group Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of ESNT opened at $56.16 on Wednesday. Essent Group has a 12-month low of $43.27 and a 12-month high of $59.90. The stock has a market cap of $5.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.50, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50-day moving average of $55.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $53.32.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The financial services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $298.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $298.69 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 14.24% and a net margin of 61.40%. Essent Group’s revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.59 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Essent Group will post 6.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.12, for a total value of $140,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 27,112 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,521,525.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essent Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Essent Group by 1.0% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,453,168 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $68,720,000 after purchasing an additional 14,145 shares during the period. Fairman Group LLC purchased a new position in Essent Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $6,195,000. NFC Investments LLC purchased a new position in Essent Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,976,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Essent Group by 6,932.3% during the third quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 47,187 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,230,000 after acquiring an additional 46,516 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 2.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,471,258 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $69,576,000 after acquiring an additional 35,484 shares in the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.