Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Given New $67.00 Price Target at Royal Bank of Canada

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) had its target price boosted by Royal Bank of Canada from $61.00 to $67.00 in a research report report published on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Essent Group from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Essent Group from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Monday. Barclays increased their target price on Essent Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Essent Group from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $65.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Monday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $64.33.

Essent Group Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of ESNT opened at $59.45 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $6.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.99, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.11. Essent Group has a 12 month low of $45.63 and a 12 month high of $64.05. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $58.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.03.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $272.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $308.33 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 14.24% and a net margin of 61.40%. The business’s revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.61 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Essent Group will post 6.69 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.94%.

Insider Activity

In other Essent Group news, SVP Vijay Bhasin sold 11,188 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.14, for a total transaction of $672,846.32. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 199,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,989,450.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essent Group

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ESNT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Essent Group by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,917,819 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $709,229,000 after buying an additional 440,385 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Essent Group by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,025,836 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $212,326,000 after acquiring an additional 258,246 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Essent Group by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,496,741 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $78,938,000 after acquiring an additional 25,483 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Essent Group by 10.7% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,247,184 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $74,220,000 after purchasing an additional 120,881 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group in the 4th quarter valued at $60,678,000. 93.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essent Group Company Profile

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.