Essent Group’s (ESNT) “Outperform” Rating Reiterated at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada reissued their outperform rating on shares of Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a $67.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Essent Group from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Essent Group from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays cut 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 report on Monday, January 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Essent Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.57.

Essent Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESNT opened at $56.13 on Tuesday. Essent Group has a twelve month low of $51.93 and a twelve month high of $65.33. The firm has a market cap of $5.96 billion, a PE ratio of 8.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a fifty day moving average of $56.19 and a 200-day moving average of $58.97.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by ($0.09). Essent Group had a net margin of 58.69% and a return on equity of 13.35%. The business had revenue of $315.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $313.88 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.64 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Essent Group will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. This is a boost from Essent Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.37%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essent Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESNT. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in Essent Group by 163.4% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 44,676 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,872,000 after buying an additional 27,717 shares during the last quarter. BayBridge Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. BayBridge Capital Group LLC now owns 8,077 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $519,000 after purchasing an additional 434 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 12,366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $795,000 after purchasing an additional 835 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Essent Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 40.0% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 65,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,022,000 after purchasing an additional 18,597 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

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.