Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Price Target Raised to $73.00

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) had its target price increased by analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $71.00 to $73.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “market perform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ target price would indicate a potential upside of 10.37% from the stock’s previous close.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Essent Group from $59.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “cautious” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Monday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Essent Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $66.67.

Essent Group Stock Performance

Shares of ESNT opened at $66.14 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $6.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.63, a P/E/G ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.90. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $61.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.79. Essent Group has a 12 month low of $51.61 and a 12 month high of $66.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by ($0.08). Essent Group had a net margin of 55.63% and a return on equity of 12.40%. The business had revenue of $311.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $316.84 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.65 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Essent Group will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Roy James Kasmar sold 3,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total value of $199,680.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 23,573 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,448,325.12. This trade represents a 12.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Essent Group

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cooke & Bieler LP lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,938,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $123,223,000 after buying an additional 318,318 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Essent Group by 78.9% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,517,859 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $92,180,000 after acquiring an additional 669,577 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Essent Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $75,596,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Essent Group by 45.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,198,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $76,173,000 after purchasing an additional 372,881 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Essent Group by 3.4% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,116,784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $70,983,000 after purchasing an additional 36,586 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.