Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Lowers Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Price Target to $71.00

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) had its price target lowered by investment analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $72.00 to $71.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "outperform" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' price objective would suggest a potential upside of 26.43% from the stock's current price.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on ESNT. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Barclays lowered shares of Essent Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Five equities research 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 has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $62.57.

Essent Group Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of Essent Group stock traded up $0.07 on Tuesday, reaching $56.16. 1,251,707 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 827,630. Essent Group has a 1-year low of $51.99 and a 1-year high of $65.33. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $56.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.96 billion, a PE ratio of 8.21, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.11.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last issued 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). Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.35% and a net margin of 58.69%. The company had revenue of $315.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $313.88 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.64 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Essent Group will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essent Group

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the third quarter worth $32,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its position in shares of Essent Group by 68.8% in the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 584 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its position in shares of Essent Group by 53.3% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,125 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the fourth quarter worth $63,000. 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.