Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Downgraded by Barclays to Equal Weight

Barclays cut shares of Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research report report published on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $58.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock, down from their previous price target of $69.00.

ESNT has been the topic of several other reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Essent Group from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Essent Group from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essent Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $63.14.

Essent Group Stock Performance

ESNT stock opened at $53.58 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.31. Essent Group has a one year low of $50.65 and a one year high of $65.33. The firm has a market cap of $5.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.77, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.11.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $3.17 billion during 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%. Essent Group’s revenue was up 969.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.66 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Essent Group will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.23%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ESNT. Inspire Investing LLC grew its position in Essent Group by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 6,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $413,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings 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 worth $2,841,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Essent Group by 2.0% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 15,552 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,000,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares during the period. Provident Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Essent Group by 2.5% during the second quarter. Provident Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $790,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its holdings in Essent Group by 1.3% in the third quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 32,752 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,106,000 after acquiring an additional 406 shares during the period. 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.