A number of research firms have changed their ratings and price targets for Essent Group (NYSE: ESNT):
- 1/10/2023 – Essent Group had its price target lowered by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $53.00 to $50.00.
- 1/6/2023 – Essent Group was downgraded by analysts at Barclays PLC from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating. They now have a $43.00 price target on the stock, down previously from $54.00.
- 1/5/2023 – Essent Group was downgraded by analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating. They now have a $44.00 price target on the stock.
- 1/5/2023 – Essent Group was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating.
- 12/15/2022 – Essent Group was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating.
- 12/7/2022 – Essent Group was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating.
Essent Group Price Performance
NYSE ESNT opened at $40.07 on Friday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $38.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.07. The company has a market capitalization of $4.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.17. Essent Group Ltd. has a 12 month low of $34.27 and a 12 month high of $50.17.
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Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 4th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.11. Essent Group had a net margin of 84.17% and a return on equity of 20.33%. The firm had revenue of $261.77 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $241.69 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.
Essent Group Increases Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 1st were paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 30th. This is a positive change from Essent Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 11.53%.
Insider Activity
In other Essent Group news, Director Aditya Dutt sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.23, for a total transaction of $235,380.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,023 shares in the company, valued at $903,192.29. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ESNT. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Essent Group in the second quarter worth about $50,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Essent Group by 43.9% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,668 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Essent Group in the second quarter valued at $112,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in Essent Group by 9.9% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,281 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the first quarter valued at about $149,000. 92.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
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.
Further Reading
- Get a free copy of the StockNews.com research report on Essent Group (ESNT)
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