StockNews.com downgraded shares of Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT – Get Rating) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Friday morning.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Essent Group from $53.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 10th. Barclays lowered Essent Group from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $43.00 in a research report on Friday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Essent Group from $53.00 to $46.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 7th. BTIG Research lowered their price objective on Essent Group from $54.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Friday, November 4th. Finally, TheStreet lowered Essent Group from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research report on Thursday, October 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $45.60.

Essent Group Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE ESNT opened at $40.03 on Friday. Essent Group has a twelve month low of $34.27 and a twelve month high of $49.40. The company has a market cap of $4.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.17. The business's fifty day moving average is $38.75 and its 200 day moving average is $39.08.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 1st were paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 30th. This is an increase from Essent Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.53%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Aditya Dutt sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.23, for a total value of $235,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 23,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $903,192.29. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essent Group

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 43.9% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,668 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 509 shares during the last quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $112,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,281 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $114,000 after buying an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $149,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.07% of the company's stock.

About Essent Group

(Get Rating)

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.

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