Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at StockNews.com

Equities researchers at StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT – Get Rating) in a report issued on Thursday. The firm set a “hold” rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

ESNT has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Barclays cut Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $54.00 to $43.00 in a research report on Friday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Essent Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Essent Group from $53.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Essent Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, January 5th. Finally, Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Monday, February 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.20.

Essent Group Price Performance

Essent Group stock opened at $37.56 on Thursday. Essent Group has a 12 month low of $34.27 and a 12 month high of $45.01. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.06 billion, a PE ratio of 4.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.19.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 10th. The financial services provider reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.59 by ($0.22). The business had revenue of $230.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $245.56 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 19.28% and a net margin of 83.07%. The company’s revenue was down 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.64 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Essent Group will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Essent Group

In other Essent Group news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.49, for a total value of $108,725.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 26,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,155,746.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Essent Group news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.49, for a total value of $108,725.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 26,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,155,746.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 1,072 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $48,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 247,293 shares in the company, valued at $11,128,185. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essent Group

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 31,731 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,234,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 56,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,958,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 5,589 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $230,000 after buying an additional 280 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 295 shares during the period. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 27,433 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,067,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. 92.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essent Group Company Profile

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Essent Group Ltd. is a holding company, which engages in the provision of banking services. It offers mortgage insurance, reinsurance, and risk management products. The company was founded by Mark A. Casale on July 1, 2008 and is headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda.