Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) PT Raised to $58.00

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) had its price target boosted by research analysts at UBS Group from $57.00 to $58.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 4.13% from the stock’s current price.

ESNT has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Essent Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Essent Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $61.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Essent Group from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $59.25.

Essent Group Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of ESNT stock opened at $55.70 on Wednesday. Essent Group has a 12-month low of $43.27 and a 12-month high of $59.90. The business’s 50 day moving average is $55.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.33. The company has a market capitalization of $5.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.05.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The financial services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $298.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $298.69 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 61.40% and a return on equity of 14.24%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.59 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Essent Group will post 6.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Essent Group news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.12, for a total value of $140,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 27,112 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,521,525.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essent Group

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 12.4% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 13,980 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $661,000 after acquiring an additional 1,544 shares in the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP acquired a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $466,000. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 0.3% during the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 227,375 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,753,000 after buying an additional 695 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $226,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 30.0% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 80,646 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,814,000 after buying an additional 18,609 shares during the period. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.