Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Should You Sell?

Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $52.06 and last traded at $52.79, with a volume of 1223921 shares. The stock had previously closed at $54.49.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ESNT. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $67.00 target price on shares of Essent Group in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays cut Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $58.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Essent Group from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Essent Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.57.

Essent Group Trading Up 0.3 %

The company has a 50-day moving average of $56.75 and a 200-day moving average of $57.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.80.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by ($0.09). Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.35% and a net margin of 58.69%. The business had revenue of $315.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $313.88 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.64 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. This is a boost from Essent Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.13%.

Institutional Trading of Essent Group

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Summit Global Investments increased its stake in shares of Essent Group by 15.1% in the first quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 22,944 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,324,000 after purchasing an additional 3,018 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Essent Group by 9,493.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 112,727 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,507,000 after acquiring an additional 111,552 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. 111 Capital acquired a new stake in Essent Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $557,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the 4th quarter worth $2,180,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

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.