Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Cut to Equal Weight at Barclays

Barclays downgraded shares of Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research report report published on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $58.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock, down from their prior target price of $69.00.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Essent Group from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Essent Group from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.71.

Essent Group Trading Up 1.5 %

ESNT opened at $55.01 on Monday. Essent Group has a twelve month low of $50.65 and a twelve month high of $65.33. The stock has a market cap of $5.84 billion, a PE ratio of 7.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.09. The business’s 50 day moving average is $55.43 and its 200-day moving average is $59.24.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $316.80 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 60.15%. The company’s revenue was up 969.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.66 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Essent Group will post 6.94 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.23%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essent Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ESNT. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in Essent Group by 726.8% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 463 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Quarry LP boosted its stake in Essent Group by 167.1% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 836 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 523 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Essent Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Essent Group by 53.9% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

About Essent Group

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.