Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Announces Earnings Results

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) released its earnings results on Friday. The financial services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.14, Briefing.com reports. Essent Group had a net margin of 62.75% and a return on equity of 14.44%. The firm had revenue of $298.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $298.69 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.59 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Essent Group Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of ESNT stock traded up $0.26 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $54.54. 555,660 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 491,395. The company has a market cap of $5.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $55.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $52.49. Essent Group has a 1-year low of $40.33 and a 1-year high of $59.90.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

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 given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.