Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Lowered to "Neutral" Rating by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Key Points

• Essent Group was downgraded by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating, with a price target of $65.00, indicating a potential upside of 7.63% from the previous close.
• Various brokerages have differing perspectives, with Barclays raising the price objective to $66.00 while Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded the stock to "market perform."
• The company's latest earnings report showed an EPS of $1.93, exceeding estimates, with revenue increasing by 2.0% year-over-year, amounting to $319.14 million.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report released on Tuesday,Finviz reports. They presently have a $65.00 price target on the financial services provider's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price target would indicate a potential upside of 7.63% from the company's previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on ESNT. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $59.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "cautious" rating in a research report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded shares of Essent Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Compass Point reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $60.00 price target on Essent Group and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essent Group has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $65.67.

Essent Group Stock Performance

Shares of ESNT opened at $60.39 on Tuesday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $62.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.14. Essent Group has a 12 month low of $51.61 and a 12 month high of $65.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.88.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $319.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $317.46 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 12.66% and a net margin of 56.36%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.91 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Essent Group will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Essent Group news, Director William Spiegel sold 6,451 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.74, for a total transaction of $404,735.74. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 26,252 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,647,050.48. The trade was a 19.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.33, for a total transaction of $158,325.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 24,865 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,574,700.45. The trade was a 9.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 28,190 shares of company stock worth $1,802,316 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.90% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essent Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 1,765.2% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 429 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 406 shares during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in Essent Group during the first quarter worth $46,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Essent Group by 330.6% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,098 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 843 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in Essent Group by 20.2% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,114 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the 1st quarter valued at $99,000. 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.

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