Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Price Target to $61.00

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) had its price target decreased by Royal Bank of Canada from $64.00 to $61.00 in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 10.07% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Essent Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Essent Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock 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 issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $58.75.

Essent Group Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE ESNT traded up $0.88 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $55.42. 285,463 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 525,880. The company has a market cap of $5.92 billion, a PE ratio of 8.38, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.05. Essent Group has a 12 month low of $42.46 and a 12 month high of $59.90. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $55.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $52.52.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The financial services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $298.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $298.69 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 14.24% and a net margin of 61.40%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.59 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Essent Group will post 6.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Essent Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its position in shares of Essent Group by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 93,293 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,552,000 after acquiring an additional 1,068 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in Essent Group by 94.1% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 739,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,019,000 after purchasing an additional 358,621 shares during the period. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $409,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in shares of Essent Group by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 10,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $613,000 after buying an additional 287 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 86.4% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 65,061 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,872,000 after buying an additional 30,149 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

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.