Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Given New $75.00 Price Target at Royal Bank Of Canada

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) had its price objective raised by research analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $68.00 to $75.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “sector perform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 9.99% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Essent Group from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Essent Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Roth Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.86.

Essent Group Stock Performance

Shares of Essent Group stock traded down $0.53 during trading on Monday, reaching $68.19. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 169,247 shares, compared to its average volume of 738,013. Essent Group has a one year low of $55.34 and a one year high of $70.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market cap of $6.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.76. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $62.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $61.56.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Essent Group will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Essent Group

In other 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,184,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $142,733,745.05. This trade represents a 1.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 5,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 35,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,254,223.94. The trade was a 13.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 39,837 shares of company stock worth $2,591,612 in the last three months. 3.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Essent Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $798,836,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the 4th quarter worth about $155,516,000. Renaissancere Holdings Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $107,114,521,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in Essent Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $43,068,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Essent Group by 78.9% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,517,859 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $92,180,000 after purchasing an additional 669,577 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Company Profile

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.