Royal Bank of Canada Reiterates "Outperform" Rating for Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT)

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "outperform" rating reissued by analysts at Royal Bank of Canada in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $67.00 price objective on the financial services provider's stock. Royal Bank of Canada's price target would indicate a potential upside of 19.31% from the company's previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Barclays cut shares of Essent Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Essent Group from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Essent Group from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Essent Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $62.57.

Essent Group Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE:ESNT traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $56.16. 1,251,407 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 827,621. The business's 50-day moving average price is $56.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.95. The company has a market cap of $5.96 billion, a PE ratio of 8.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.11. Essent Group has a 12-month low of $51.99 and a 12-month high of $65.33.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.67 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $315.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $313.88 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 58.69% and a return on equity of 13.35%. Essent Group's revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.64 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Essent Group will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essent Group

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ESNT. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 163.4% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 44,676 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,872,000 after purchasing an additional 27,717 shares in the last quarter. BayBridge Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in Essent Group by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. BayBridge Capital Group LLC now owns 8,077 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $519,000 after buying an additional 434 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its holdings in Essent Group by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 12,366 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $795,000 after buying an additional 835 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Essent Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Essent Group by 40.0% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 65,087 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,022,000 after buying an additional 18,597 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.