Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Increases Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Price Target to $74.00

Key Points

• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Essent Group’s price target from $73 to $74 and kept an outperform rating, implying about 19.5% upside from the previous close.
• The analyst move came alongside generally mixed Wall Street views: Essent Group has an average Hold rating and a consensus price target of $66.57.
• Essent Group reported strong quarterly results, posting $1.82 EPS and $336.07 million in revenue, both above estimates, while the stock was trading around $61.91.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) had its target price increased by equities researchers at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $73.00 to $74.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "outperform" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' price target would suggest a potential upside of 19.52% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on Essent Group in a report on Friday, May 22nd. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $68.00 price target for the company. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $66.57.

Essent Group Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE:ESNT traded up $0.21 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $61.91. The company had a trading volume of 199,059 shares, compared to its average volume of 751,399. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Essent Group has a 1 year low of $55.22 and a 1 year high of $67.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.82, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.78.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $336.07 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $297.56 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 53.64%.The company's revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.69 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Essent Group will post 7.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Essent Group

In other Essent Group news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 7,628 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.01, for a total transaction of $480,640.28. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 237,586 shares in the company, valued at $14,970,293.86. This represents a 3.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark Casale sold 13,064 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.05, for a total value of $849,813.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,218,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $144,312,124. This represents a 0.59% 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. Insiders sold 25,814 shares of company stock valued at $1,661,682 over the last quarter. Insiders own 3.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essent Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Essent Group in the third quarter worth $25,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the third quarter worth $27,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 97.1% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 676 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 111.8% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 879 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essent Group Company Profile

Essent Group Ltd. NYSE: ESNT is a publicly traded insurance holding company specializing in private mortgage insurance and mortgage reinsurance solutions. Through its primary subsidiary, Essent Guaranty, the company provides credit protection to mortgage lenders, helping mitigate the risk of borrower default on residential mortgage loans. Essent's insurance policies enable lenders to offer low-down-payment programs, supporting homebuyers in achieving homeownership with reduced upfront equity requirements.

Beyond traditional mortgage insurance, Essent offers a suite of risk management and analytics services designed to help financial institutions monitor and manage mortgage portfolios.

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