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

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) was downgraded by research analysts at Barclays from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report released 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 previous price objective of $69.00. Barclays‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 5.44% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of 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. cut their target price on shares of Essent Group from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Essent Group from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $63.14.

Essent Group Price Performance

NYSE ESNT opened at $55.01 on Monday. Essent Group has a 12 month low of $50.65 and a 12 month high of $65.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.84 billion, a PE ratio of 7.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.11. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $55.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.31.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 business posted $1.66 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Essent Group will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Essent Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in Essent Group by 726.8% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 463 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the second quarter worth approximately $47,000. Quarry LP grew its position in Essent Group by 167.1% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 836 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 523 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Essent Group by 53.9% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $88,000 after buying an additional 477 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

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.