JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Positive Forecast for Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Stock Price

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) had its price objective upped by investment analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $65.00 to $72.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective points to a potential upside of 11.88% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Barclays boosted their price target on Essent Group from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $68.00 target price on the stock. Roth Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Essent Group from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Essent Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essent Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.71.

Essent Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ESNT traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $64.35. 50,600 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 771,877. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $60.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $61.25. The company has a market cap of $5.93 billion, a PE ratio of 9.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.32. Essent Group has a 1-year low of $55.22 and a 1-year high of $67.09.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.14. Essent Group had a net margin of 53.64% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The business had revenue of $336.07 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $297.56 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.69 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Essent Group will post 7.25 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Essent Group news, CEO Mark Casale sold 29,329 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.35, for a total transaction of $1,916,650.15. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,184,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $142,733,745.05. The trade was a 1.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.51, for a total transaction of $349,305.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 35,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,254,223.94. This trade represents a 13.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 65,651 shares of company stock valued at $4,253,294 over the last quarter. 3.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essent Group

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ESNT. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Essent Group by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $211,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in Essent Group by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 16,584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its position in Essent Group by 26.4% during the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,162 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP lifted its holdings in Essent Group by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 38,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,499,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the period. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Essent Group by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 21,801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,324,000 after buying an additional 261 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

About Essent Group

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.