Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Downgraded by Bank of America to “Neutral”

Bank of America lowered shares of Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note released on Friday morning, Marketbeat reports. Bank of America currently has $68.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock, down from their prior price target of $78.00.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on ESNT. Weiss Ratings upgraded Essent Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. BTIG Research started 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 target on Essent Group from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Essent Group from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Roth Capital upped their price objective on Essent Group from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Essent Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $70.75.

Essent Group Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE ESNT opened at $67.01 on Friday. Essent Group has a one year low of $55.34 and a one year high of $70.37. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $62.92. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $6.02 billion, a PE ratio of 9.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.76.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter. Essent Group had a net margin of 51.45% and a return on equity of 11.91%. The firm had revenue of $362.69 million for the quarter. On average, equities analysts forecast that Essent Group will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 31st. Essent Group’s payout ratio is presently 19.53%.

Insider Transactions at Essent Group

In other news, SVP Vijay Bhasin sold 14,175 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $992,250.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 184,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,899,180. The trade was a 7.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark Casale sold 21,607 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.07, for a total value of $1,514,002.49. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,039,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $142,921,148.37. This represents a 1.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 have sold 70,146 shares of company stock worth $4,900,365 in the last quarter. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Essent Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allworth Financial LP bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Essent Group in the third quarter worth about $43,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Essent Group by 790.6% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 757 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 672 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Essent Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $55,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Essent Group by 82.3% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 981 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essent Group Company Profile

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE: ESNT) is a Bermuda-based holding company that provides private mortgage insurance and related risk-management services in the United States. Through its operating subsidiaries, the company helps protect mortgage lenders and investors against losses when borrowers default on residential mortgage loans.

Its principal business is mortgage insurance for low-down-payment conventional residential mortgages, enabling qualified borrowers to obtain home financing with less than a 20% down payment.