Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Sets New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $66.50 and last traded at $66.30, with a volume of 118054 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $65.14.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays lifted their price target on Essent Group from $59.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “cautious” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Essent Group from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $66.67.

Essent Group Trading Down 0.9%

The company has a 50 day moving average of $61.71 and a 200 day moving average of $60.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 1.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.64, a P/E/G ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.90.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $311.83 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $316.84 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 55.63% and a return on equity of 12.40%. Essent Group’s quarterly revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.65 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were given a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is 18.05%.

Insider Activity at Essent Group

In related news, Director Roy James Kasmar sold 3,250 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total transaction of $199,680.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 23,573 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,448,325.12. This trade represents a 12.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Essent Group during the third quarter worth $25,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 1,765.2% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 429 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares during the period. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $57,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Essent Group by 27.8% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 947 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the period. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Essent Group

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.