Brokerages Set Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Target Price at $71.86

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $71.8571.

Several research firms have commented on ESNT. Barclays increased their target price on Essent Group from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Essent Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Essent Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Essent Group from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th.

Essent Group Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:ESNT opened at $68.99 on Friday. Essent Group has a 52-week low of $55.34 and a 52-week high of $70.37. The company has a market capitalization of $6.20 billion, a PE ratio of 9.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.18. The company has a fifty day moving average of $66.10 and a 200-day moving average of $62.20.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $362.69 million for the quarter. Essent Group had a return on equity of 11.91% and a net margin of 51.45%. On average, equities analysts predict that Essent Group will post 7.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is 19.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essent Group

In related news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.70, for a total value of $174,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 30,154 shares in the company, valued at $2,101,733.80. This represents a 7.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 5,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.51, for a total value of $349,305.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 35,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,254,223.94. This represents a 13.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 98,848 shares of company stock worth $6,726,789 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essent Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new stake in Essent Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Essent Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new stake in Essent Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in Essent Group by 97.1% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 676 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

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.