Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Stock Rating Lowered by Barclays

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) was downgraded by analysts at Barclays from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report issued on Monday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a $58.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $69.00. Barclays‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 6.93% from the stock’s previous close.

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

Essent Group Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE ESNT opened at $54.24 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.76 billion, a PE ratio of 7.86, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.11. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $55.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.27. Essent Group has a twelve month low of $50.65 and a twelve month high of $65.33.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESNT. Diversified Trust Co grew its stake in Essent Group by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 14,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $807,000 after acquiring an additional 1,489 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its position in shares of Essent Group by 25.7% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 13,853 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $754,000 after purchasing an additional 2,832 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Essent Group by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 60,250 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,294,000 after buying an additional 811 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Essent Group by 10.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,021,343 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $65,662,000 after acquiring an additional 99,604 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Essent Group by 2.9% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 47,182 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,993,000 after purchasing an additional 1,309 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.