UBS Group Raises Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Price Target to $58.00

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) had its price target upped by UBS Group from $57.00 to $58.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on ESNT. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Essent Group from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $58.00 to $61.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Essent Group from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $59.25.

Essent Group Stock Performance

NYSE ESNT opened at $56.21 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $55.78 and a 200-day moving average of $53.38. The stock has a market cap of $6.00 billion, a PE ratio of 8.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.05. Essent Group has a 52-week low of $43.27 and a 52-week high of $59.90.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $298.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $298.69 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 61.40% and a return on equity of 14.24%. Essent Group’s quarterly revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.59 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Essent Group will post 6.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a 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 at Essent Group

In other Essent Group news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.12, for a total value of $140,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,112 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,521,525.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essent Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,543 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $77,000. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.