Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Stock Gets Downgrade from Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Essent Group from “buy” to “hold.” The broader analyst consensus is also “Hold,” with three Buy ratings, seven Hold ratings, and an average price target of $70.75.
• Essent shares opened at $67.01, near their 52-week high of $70.37, while the company reported quarterly earnings of $2.08 per share on $362.69 million in revenue.
• Insiders sold 70,146 shares worth approximately $4.9 million over the past quarter under pre-arranged trading plans, while institutional investors continue to own a substantial 93% of the company.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on ESNT. Roth Capital raised their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Barclays boosted their target price on Essent Group from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Bank of America downgraded Essent Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $78.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings raised Essent Group from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, BTIG Research initiated coverage on Essent Group in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $70.75.

Essent Group Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE ESNT opened at $67.01 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The business has a 50-day moving average of $65.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $62.92. Essent Group has a 1 year low of $55.34 and a 1 year high of $70.37.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $362.69 million during the quarter. Essent Group had a net margin of 51.45% and a return on equity of 11.91%. On average, analysts forecast that Essent Group will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Essent Group news, SVP Vijay Bhasin sold 14,175 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $992,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 184,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,899,180. The trade was a 7.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.54, for a total value of $376,970.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 29,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,055,788.76. This represents a 15.50% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 70,146 shares of company stock valued at $4,900,365. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Essent Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESNT. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Essent Group in the third quarter valued at $43,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Essent Group by 790.6% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 757 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 672 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Essent Group during the second quarter worth about $55,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Essent Group by 82.3% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 981 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 443 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company's stock.

About Essent Group

Essent Group Ltd. NYSE: ESNT is a Bermuda-based holding company that provides private mortgage insurance and related risk-management services in the United States. Through its operating subsidiaries, the company helps protect mortgage lenders and investors against losses when borrowers default on residential mortgage loans.

Its principal business is mortgage insurance for low-down-payment conventional residential mortgages, enabling qualified borrowers to obtain home financing with less than a 20% down payment.

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