Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Price Target Raised to $67.00

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) had its target price upped by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $66.00 to $67.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

ESNT has been the subject of several other research reports. Wall Street Zen cut Essent Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 31st. Bank of America downgraded Essent Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $78.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Friday, October 30th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on Essent Group in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Essent Group from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Essent Group from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Essent Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.75.

Essent Group Stock Performance

Shares of Essent Group stock traded down $0.28 during trading on Thursday, hitting $64.61. 348,613 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 822,528. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.05. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.17. Essent Group has a 52-week low of $55.34 and a 52-week high of $71.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.83, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.71.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.03). Essent Group had a net margin of 49.08% and a return on equity of 11.99%. The business had revenue of $374.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $344.17 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.67 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Essent Group will post 7.59 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 1st. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is 19.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.70, for a total transaction of $174,250.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 30,154 shares in the company, valued at $2,101,733.80. This trade represents a 7.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 5,500 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.54, for a total value of $376,970.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 29,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,055,788.76. This represents a 15.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 118,705 shares of company stock valued at $8,352,951. Insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essent Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Essent Group during the second quarter worth approximately $798,836,000. Renaissancere Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $107,114,521. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in Essent Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $43,068,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Essent Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $41,041,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Essent Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $24,746,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Company Profile

Essent Group is a Bermuda-based provider of mortgage insurance and reinsurance, operating primarily in the United States. Its services help mortgage lenders manage the credit risk associated with residential home loans. Through its U.S. mortgage insurance subsidiary, Essent Guaranty, the company provides private mortgage insurance for eligible borrowers who make smaller down payments on conventional mortgages. The coverage can help lenders reduce potential losses if a borrower defaults. Essent also provides mortgage reinsurance through its reinsurance operations.