Analysts Set Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) PT at $69.29

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the ten brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $69.2857.

ESNT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Essent Group from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Roth Mkm increased their target price on Essent Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Essent Group from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Monday, December 29th.

Essent Group Stock Up 0.2%

ESNT opened at $65.36 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $63.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.06. Essent Group has a twelve month low of $51.61 and a twelve month high of $67.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 1.68. The firm has a market cap of $6.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.14 and a beta of 0.90.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $311.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $316.84 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 55.63% and a return on equity of 12.40%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.65 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Essent Group will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essent Group

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essent Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESNT. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in Essent Group by 1,765.2% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 429 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new stake in Essent Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in Essent Group by 97.1% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 676 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 333 shares during the period. Finally, Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $57,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

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.