Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Cuts Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Price Target to $71.00

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) had its target price lowered by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $72.00 to $71.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays lowered Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.57.

Essent Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESNT opened at $56.13 on Tuesday. Essent Group has a 1-year low of $51.93 and a 1-year high of $65.33. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $56.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.97. The stock has a market cap of $5.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.11.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $315.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $313.88 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.35% and a net margin of 58.69%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.64 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Essent Group will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Essent Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Essent Group’s payout ratio is currently 16.37%.

Institutional Trading of Essent Group

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 3,912 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $213,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 39.2% during the fourth quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 40,453 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,202,000 after buying an additional 11,397 shares during the last quarter. GTS Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Essent Group during the fourth quarter worth about $236,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group in the 4th quarter valued at $5,216,000. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 24.2% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 15,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $866,000 after acquiring an additional 3,100 shares during the period. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.