Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Stock Gets Price Target Increase from Barclays

Key Points

• Barclays raised Essent Group’s price target from $65 to $66 while maintaining an “equal weight” rating, implying approximately 8.16% potential upside from the reported share price.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: Essent has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $72, based on three Buy ratings and six Hold ratings.
• Essent reported quarterly earnings of $2.08 per share on $362.69 million in revenue, while institutional investors own approximately 93% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) had its target price boosted by equities researchers at Barclays from $65.00 to $66.00 in a research report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "equal weight" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Barclays's price target would suggest a potential upside of 8.16% from the company's current price.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. BTIG Research initiated coverage on Essent Group in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Essent Group from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $72.00.

Essent Group Stock Performance

NYSE:ESNT traded up $0.80 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $61.02. The stock had a trading volume of 86,339 shares, compared to its average volume of 738,644. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.18. The stock has a market cap of $5.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.76. Essent Group has a 12-month low of $55.34 and a 12-month high of $70.37. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $67.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.20.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $362.69 million during the quarter. Essent Group had a return on equity of 11.91% and a net margin of 51.45%. On average, research analysts forecast that Essent Group will post 7.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Essent Group news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.70, for a total value of $174,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 30,154 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,101,733.80. The trade was a 7.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Vijay Bhasin sold 14,175 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $992,250.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 184,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,899,180. This trade represents a 7.14% 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 99,475 shares of company stock valued at $6,817,015. 3.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Essent Group by 5.6% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,071 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $296,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of Essent Group by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 19,586 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,145,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Essent Group by 10.9% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,071 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $197,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Essent Group by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 49,403 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,887,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Essent Group by 11.6% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,614 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $211,000 after acquiring an additional 377 shares during the period. 93.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essent Group Company Profile

Essent Group Ltd. is a Bermuda-based holding company focused on private mortgage insurance and related risk-management solutions for the U.S. residential mortgage market. Through its subsidiaries, the company helps protect mortgage lenders and investors against losses when borrowers default on home loans.

Essent's primary business is conducted through Essent Guaranty, Inc, which provides mortgage insurance for conventional residential mortgages, generally supporting loans made to borrowers with down payments below traditional thresholds.

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