Zacks reports that on Friday, August 5, Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE: ESNT) announced that the company would begin paying a quarterly dividend to shareholders. On Monday, September 12, the supplier of financial services will pay dividends to shareholders recognized as having ownership on Thursday, September 1. The amount of the dividend payment will be $0.22 per share. That translates into a dividend payment of $0.88 yearly, giving the stock a yield of 2.16%. The date that will no longer count for dividends to be accumulated is August 31, which falls on a Wednesday. That is an increase compared to the previous quarterly dividend payment made by Essent Group, which was $0.21. The Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio of 13.7% indicates that the company’s profits adequately finance the dividend.
Analysts forecast that Essent Group will be able to keep its current payout ratio of 13.6% in 2019, which will allow it to cover its annual dividend payment of $0.88 per share, provided that the firm generates $6.45 per share in earnings during 2019. When trading started on Tuesday, one share of ESNT stock could be purchased for $40.68. In the past year, the price of Essent Group has ranged from a low of $35.53 to a high of $50.17. The average price it has been trading at over the past year is $50.17. In addition, the company has a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52, and a beta value of 1.18. All of these metrics relate to the company’s stock price.
The total value of the corporation, as represented by its market capitalization, is $4.38 billion. On Friday, August 5, Essent Group (NYSE: ESNT) made public the previously confidential information concerning its most recent quarterly results. The corporation that offers financial services reported quarterly earnings per share of $2.16, which is $0.58 higher than the average expectation of $1.58 per share floating around the internet. The business’s sales for the quarter came in at $244.10 million, which is lower than the $244.29 million that industry experts expected to be the amount the company would bring in. The return on equity for Essent Group was 21.13 percent, while the company’s net margin was 85.02%. Compared to the sales recorded during the same quarter of the previous year, the company saw a 3% increase in its quarterly revenue. The company reported earnings per share of $1.42 during the same period the year before compared to the same period.
The projections of market analysts suggest that during the current fiscal year, Essent Group will generate revenues of $7.86 per share. ESNT has received financial backing from various scientific groups throughout its existence. According to a report published by BTIG Research on August 15, the company has decreased its price target for Essent Group to $54.00. Bloomberg’s previous advice for Essent Group was to “hold,” but in a research report issued on August 22, they changed their recommendation to “buy.” Five equity research specialists have recommended buying the stock, and one of those experts has recommended that investors go on and purchase the shares. The overall recommendation for Essent Group is a “Moderate Buy,” and the price target has been established at $54.00, as indicated by the data provided by Bloomberg.
On August 9, Director Aditya Dutt completed a transaction in which he sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock. That is related to other recent events. The total amount received for the sale of the shares was $251,700.00, and the price paid on average for each share was $41.95. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) kept a legal file accessible online and contained information relevant to the transaction. This information can be viewed by anybody interested. The company’s ownership amount held by corporate insiders equals 2.90 percent of the total. The sectors in which hedge funds and other institutional investors hold assets have recently been the subject of recent revisions made by those investors. For example, forum Financial Management LP raised its investment in Essent Group by 5.3% during the first three months of 2018.
After making an additional purchase of 280 shares during the period, Forum Financial Management LP now has 5,589 stocks held by the financial services provider. These shares have a combined value of $230,000 because Forum Financial Management LP bought additional shares during the period. During the first three months of 2018, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted the percentage of Essent Group shares that it owned by 1.0%. As a result, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now possesses 41,000 shares of the common stock of the financial services provider, which is worth a combined total of $1,690,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period in question. During the second quarter of this year, Centiva Capital LP increased the percentage of Essent Group shares that it owned by 4.7%. Centiva Capital LP is the direct owner of 10,441 shares in the company that provides financial services.
The purchase of an additional 465 shares during the most recent period brought the total number of owned shares to a total value of $406,000, which can be expressed as a dollar amount. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Essent Group by 43.9 percent during the first three months of 2018. Lazard Asset Management LLC currently has 1,668 shares of the stock held by the financial services provider, which is valued at a total of $68,000. That was accomplished by acquiring an additional 509 shares during the quarter. During the quarter, these shares were purchased. During the second quarter, the Bank of Montreal raised the amount of Essent Group stock owned by 13.1%. That brings us to our last point. Bank of Montreal Can now have a total of 9,625 shares in the company, which have a market value of $383,000 after purchasing an additional 1,113 shares in the company during the most recent quarter.
At the moment, institutional investors control 92.59% of the equity in the company—information about the Essent Group. Essent Group Ltd., which offers these services through its subsidiaries, can provide private mortgage insurance and reinsurance for mortgages in the United States that are backed by residential properties. Essent Group Ltd. It also covers primary, pool, and master policies for mortgage insurance and master policies. Additionally, it offers coverage for master policies. The company also provides a wide range of other services, such as customer support, advice, and services for underwriting, services for underwriting contracts, IT maintenance and development services, and many more.
