Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Price Target Raised to $72.00 at Barclays

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) had its price objective increased by stock analysts at Barclays from $64.00 to $72.00 in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Barclays‘s price target points to a potential upside of 13.58% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on ESNT. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Essent Group from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. BTIG Research raised their price target on Essent Group from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Essent Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $65.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Essent Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.50.

Essent Group Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE ESNT traded up $0.63 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $63.39. The company had a trading volume of 87,436 shares, compared to its average volume of 493,420. The firm has a market cap of $6.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.12. Essent Group has a fifty-two week low of $45.63 and a fifty-two week high of $65.33. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.61.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.23. Essent Group had a net margin of 61.31% and a return on equity of 14.40%. The firm had revenue of $272.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $308.33 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.61 EPS. Essent Group’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Essent Group will post 7.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Roy James Kasmar sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.81, for a total transaction of $294,050.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 27,140 shares in the company, valued at $1,596,103.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Vijay Bhasin sold 11,188 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.14, for a total value of $672,846.32. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 199,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,989,450.26. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Roy James Kasmar sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.81, for a total transaction of $294,050.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,140 shares in the company, valued at $1,596,103.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,188 shares of company stock worth $1,094,076 over the last ninety days. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essent Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in Essent Group by 0.4% during the second quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 50,569 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,841,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 6,241 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $351,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 10,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $613,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Provident Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Essent Group by 2.5% in the second quarter. Provident Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $790,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Essent Group by 49.7% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,187 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 394 shares in 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.