Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Cut to “Equal Weight” at Barclays

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) was downgraded by investment analysts at Barclays from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. They presently have a $58.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $69.00. Barclays‘s price target points to a potential upside of 5.44% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on ESNT. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Essent Group from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Essent Group from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $63.14.

Essent Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ESNT opened at $55.01 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $5.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.97, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.31. Essent Group has a 52 week low of $50.65 and a 52 week high of $65.33.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.08). Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 60.15%. The business had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $316.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.66 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 969.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Essent Group will post 6.94 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Essent Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ESNT. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 726.8% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 463 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 167.1% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 836 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 523 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Essent Group by 53.9% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares in the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.