Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Given New $63.00 Price Target at UBS Group

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) had its price objective lowered by UBS Group from $65.00 to $63.00 in a research report report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Roth Mkm raised their target price on shares of Essent Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Monday, December 29th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $68.43.

Essent Group Stock Performance

Shares of ESNT opened at $57.68 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $61.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $62.34. Essent Group has a 12 month low of $51.61 and a 12 month high of $67.09. The firm has a market cap of $5.45 billion, a PE ratio of 8.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 13th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $312.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $312.62 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 54.72% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.58 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Essent Group will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This is an increase from Essent Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Essent Group’s payout ratio is currently 18.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Essent Group news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 4,352 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total transaction of $291,584.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 237,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,939,032. The trade was a 1.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ESNT. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $155,516,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Essent Group by 78.9% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,517,859 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $92,180,000 after purchasing an additional 669,577 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group in the 4th quarter valued at $27,983,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 45.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,198,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $76,173,000 after purchasing an additional 372,881 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP grew its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,938,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $123,223,000 after purchasing an additional 318,318 shares during the period. 93.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.