Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Given New $74.00 Price Target at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) had its price objective upped by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $73.00 to $74.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price objective would suggest a potential upside of 19.52% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on ESNT. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on Essent Group in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $68.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Essent Group from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Essent Group from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Essent Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $66.57.

Essent Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESNT traded up $0.21 during trading on Thursday, hitting $61.91. 199,059 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 751,399. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.82, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.78. The business’s fifty day moving average is $60.33 and its 200-day moving average is $61.26. Essent Group has a one year low of $55.22 and a one year high of $67.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $336.07 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $297.56 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 53.64%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.69 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Essent Group will post 7.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Essent Group

In related news, CEO Mark Casale sold 13,064 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.05, for a total value of $849,813.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,218,480 shares in the company, valued at $144,312,124. This represents a 0.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 4,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.01, for a total transaction of $276,292.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 233,336 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,169,173.36. This represents a 1.79% 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 25,814 shares of company stock worth $1,661,682. Company insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Essent Group

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Essent Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $155,516,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Essent Group by 78.9% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,517,859 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $92,180,000 after purchasing an additional 669,577 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Essent Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,983,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Essent Group by 45.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,198,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $76,173,000 after purchasing an additional 372,881 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its position in shares of Essent Group by 152.3% during the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 455,819 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,682,000 after purchasing an additional 275,149 shares during the period. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essent Group Company Profile

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE: ESNT) is a publicly traded insurance holding company specializing in private mortgage insurance and mortgage reinsurance solutions. Through its primary subsidiary, Essent Guaranty, the company provides credit protection to mortgage lenders, helping mitigate the risk of borrower default on residential mortgage loans. Essent’s insurance policies enable lenders to offer low-down-payment programs, supporting homebuyers in achieving homeownership with reduced upfront equity requirements.

Beyond traditional mortgage insurance, Essent offers a suite of risk management and analytics services designed to help financial institutions monitor and manage mortgage portfolios.