Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Stock Price

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) had its price target lowered by equities researchers at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $75.00 to $72.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price objective suggests a potential upside of 30.89% from the stock’s current price.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on ESNT. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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 report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Barclays downgraded shares of Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $69.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Monday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Essent Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.71.

Essent Group Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of ESNT stock opened at $55.01 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $55.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.21. 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 price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.09.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). Essent Group had a net margin of 60.15% and a return on equity of 13.81%. The company had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $316.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.66 earnings per share. Essent Group’s revenue was up 969.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Essent Group will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essent Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESNT. Barclays PLC increased its position in Essent Group by 154.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 208,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,431,000 after purchasing an additional 126,899 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Essent Group by 10.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,680,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $262,973,000 after buying an additional 445,853 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC bought a new position in Essent Group in the second quarter worth approximately $605,000. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in Essent Group by 163.4% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 44,676 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,872,000 after buying an additional 27,717 shares during the period. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Essent Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $526,000. 93.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.