Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday. The financial services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.14, Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $298.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $298.69 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 62.75% and a return on equity of 14.44%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.59 earnings per share.

Essent Group Trading Up 0.5 %

ESNT traded up $0.26 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $54.54. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 555,660 shares, compared to its average volume of 491,395. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.39, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.05. Essent Group has a 1 year low of $40.33 and a 1 year high of $59.90. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $55.11 and its 200-day moving average is $52.43.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $58.00 to $61.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Essent Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $58.38.

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.