Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.03 EPS

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) issued its earnings results on Friday. The financial services provider reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.03, Zacks reports. Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.35% and a net margin of 58.69%. The company had revenue of $317.56 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $311.18 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.70 earnings per share. Essent Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Essent Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESNT opened at $58.53 on Friday. Essent Group has a 1 year low of $51.61 and a 1 year high of $65.34. The company has a market capitalization of $6.08 billion, a PE ratio of 8.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.87. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $56.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $56.33.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. This is a boost from Essent Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Essent Group’s payout ratio is currently 18.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Essent Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.71.

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.