Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.28

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, May 2nd, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be paid a dividend of 0.28 per share by the financial services provider on Monday, June 10th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st.

Essent Group has increased its dividend by an average of 16.0% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 5 consecutive years. Essent Group has a dividend payout ratio of 15.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Essent Group to earn $7.17 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.12 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 15.6%.

Essent Group Stock Performance

Shares of ESNT stock traded up $0.26 during trading on Friday, hitting $54.54. 555,660 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 491,395. Essent Group has a twelve month low of $40.33 and a twelve month high of $59.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.05. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $55.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.43.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 3rd. The financial services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.14. Essent Group had a return on equity of 14.44% and a net margin of 62.75%. The business had revenue of $298.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $298.69 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.59 earnings per share. Essent Group’s quarterly revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Essent Group will post 6.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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