Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Price Target Lowered to $65.00 at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) had its price target lowered by equities researchers at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $71.00 to $65.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ target price indicates a potential upside of 19.95% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 price target on shares of Essent Group in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays lowered Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $58.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Essent Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.71.

Essent Group Stock Performance

ESNT traded up $1.41 on Tuesday, hitting $54.19. 209,753 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 620,167. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $56.75 and its 200-day moving average is $57.60. Essent Group has a 12 month low of $52.06 and a 12 month high of $65.34. The company has a market cap of $5.63 billion, a PE ratio of 7.91, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.80.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.67 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $315.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $313.88 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 58.69% and a return on equity of 13.35%. Essent Group’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.64 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Essent Group will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Essent Group during the third quarter worth approximately $1,313,000. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,206,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $270,425,000 after purchasing an additional 59,750 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Essent Group in the third quarter worth $215,000. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Essent Group by 154.7% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Essent Group during the third quarter worth about $686,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.