Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Given New $71.00 Price Target at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) had its target price decreased by equities research analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $72.00 to $71.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target indicates a potential upside of 25.82% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays cut shares of Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essent Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.57.

Essent Group Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of Essent Group stock opened at $56.43 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $56.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.02. Essent Group has a 12-month low of $51.69 and a 12-month high of $65.33. The firm has a market cap of $5.99 billion, a PE ratio of 8.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.11.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.67 by ($0.09). Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 60.15%. The business had revenue of $315.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $313.88 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.64 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Essent Group will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essent Group

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Essent Group by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,367,101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $673,265,000 after purchasing an additional 432,034 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Essent Group by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,168,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $281,382,000 after buying an additional 200,284 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Essent Group by 1.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,206,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $270,425,000 after acquiring an additional 59,750 shares in the last quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc grew its stake in shares of Essent Group by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 2,700,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $146,988,000 after acquiring an additional 350,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 2,370,484 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $129,049,000 after acquiring an additional 221,950 shares in the last quarter. 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.