Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Receives $69.33 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $69.3333.

ESNT has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Monday, December 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Essent Group in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on shares of Essent Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Essent Group from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th.

Essent Group Stock Performance

NYSE:ESNT opened at $60.18 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $62.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $62.52. Essent Group has a fifty-two week low of $51.61 and a fifty-two week high of $67.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.20. The firm has a market cap of $5.69 billion, a PE ratio of 8.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.91.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 13th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by ($0.14). Essent Group had a net margin of 54.72% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The business had revenue of $312.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $312.62 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.58 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Essent Group will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Essent Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.00%.

Insider Transactions at Essent Group

In other news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 4,352 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total value of $291,584.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 237,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,939,032. This trade represents a 1.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essent Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $155,516,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Essent Group by 78.9% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,517,859 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $92,180,000 after purchasing an additional 669,577 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Essent Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,983,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Essent Group by 45.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,198,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $76,173,000 after purchasing an additional 372,881 shares during the period. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP raised its position in shares of Essent Group by 19.6% during the third quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,938,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $123,223,000 after buying an additional 318,318 shares during the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essent Group Company Profile

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE: ESNT) is a publicly traded insurance holding company specializing in private mortgage insurance and mortgage reinsurance solutions. Through its primary subsidiary, Essent Guaranty, the company provides credit protection to mortgage lenders, helping mitigate the risk of borrower default on residential mortgage loans. Essent’s insurance policies enable lenders to offer low-down-payment programs, supporting homebuyers in achieving homeownership with reduced upfront equity requirements.

Beyond traditional mortgage insurance, Essent offers a suite of risk management and analytics services designed to help financial institutions monitor and manage mortgage portfolios.