Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Price Target Raised to $66.00

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) had its target price hoisted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $65.00 to $66.00 in a report issued on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Essent Group from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Roth Capital boosted their target price on Essent Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Essent Group from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.29.

Essent Group Stock Up 3.0%

ESNT opened at $60.58 on Monday. Essent Group has a 52 week low of $51.61 and a 52 week high of $67.09. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $63.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $61.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a market cap of $5.86 billion, a PE ratio of 8.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.90.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by ($0.08). Essent Group had a net margin of 55.63% and a return on equity of 12.40%. The company had revenue of $311.83 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $316.84 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.65 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Essent Group will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Essent Group’s payout ratio is 18.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Essent Group news, Director Roy James Kasmar sold 3,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total transaction of $199,680.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 23,573 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,448,325.12. The trade was a 12.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 4,352 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total value of $291,584.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 237,896 shares in the company, valued at $15,939,032. This trade represents a 1.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Essent Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Essent Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 1,765.2% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 429 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares during the last quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the third quarter worth about $57,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Essent Group by 27.8% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 947 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.