Essent Group (ESNT) to Release Quarterly Earnings on Friday

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) will issue its quarterly earnings data before the market opens on Friday, May 3rd. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $1.56 per share for the quarter. Parties interested in listening to the company’s conference call can do so using this link.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The financial services provider reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $297.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $286.18 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 62.75% and a return on equity of 14.44%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.37 EPS. On average, analysts expect Essent Group to post $7 EPS for the current fiscal year and $7 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Essent Group Stock Performance

Shares of Essent Group stock opened at $53.59 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $55.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $52.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.24, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.04. Essent Group has a 52 week low of $40.33 and a 52 week high of $59.90.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This is a boost from Essent Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 12th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. Essent Group’s payout ratio is presently 17.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Essent Group from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Essent Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Essent Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $58.00 to $61.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $58.38.

About Essent Group

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.