Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Price Target Raised to $65.00 at Barclays

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) had its price objective increased by analysts at Barclays from $62.00 to $65.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective suggests a potential downside of 5.19% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also commented on ESNT. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Essent Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Roth Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Essent Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, May 22nd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $68.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $68.14.

Essent Group Trading Down 0.2%

ESNT opened at $68.56 on Monday. Essent Group has a 52 week low of $55.34 and a 52 week high of $70.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.56. The firm has a market cap of $6.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.76.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $362.69 million during the quarter. Essent Group had a return on equity of 11.91% and a net margin of 51.45%. On average, equities analysts expect that Essent Group will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Essent Group

In other Essent Group news, CEO Mark Casale sold 29,329 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.35, for a total transaction of $1,916,650.15. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,184,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $142,733,745.05. The trade was a 1.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 5,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.51, for a total value of $349,305.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 35,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,254,223.94. This represents a 13.42% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 39,837 shares of company stock valued at $2,591,612. Insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essent Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Essent Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $798,836,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Essent Group by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,987,945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $779,336,000 after purchasing an additional 85,295 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Essent Group by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,076,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $206,628,000 after buying an additional 129,672 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Essent Group in the 4th quarter worth $155,516,000. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP grew its stake in shares of Essent Group by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,952,006 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $126,900,000 after acquiring an additional 13,318 shares in 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.