Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Price Target Cut to $67.00 by Analysts at Royal Bank of Canada

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) had its target price trimmed by Royal Bank of Canada from $73.00 to $67.00 in a report published on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on ESNT. BTIG Research increased their target price on shares of Essent Group from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Essent Group from $68.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Essent Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $65.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essent Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.83.

Essent Group Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of ESNT stock traded down $0.12 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $53.99. 19,702 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 504,576. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.12. Essent Group has a fifty-two week low of $47.56 and a fifty-two week high of $65.33. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $62.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.36.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.08). Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 60.15%. The firm had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $316.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.66 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 969.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Essent Group will post 7.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.59, for a total value of $127,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 25,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,616,203.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essent Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Essent Group by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,680,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $262,973,000 after buying an additional 445,853 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Essent Group by 3.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,917,819 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $709,229,000 after purchasing an additional 440,385 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in Essent Group by 94.1% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 739,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,019,000 after buying an additional 358,621 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Essent Group by 68.8% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 436,009 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,499,000 after buying an additional 177,700 shares during the period. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in shares of Essent Group during the 1st quarter worth about $8,742,000. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.