Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Receives $69.29 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $69.2857.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on ESNT shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on shares of Essent Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. 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 note on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th.

Essent Group Price Performance

ESNT stock opened at $65.36 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $63.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.13. The firm has a market cap of $6.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.51, a P/E/G ratio of 4.14 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Essent Group has a 12 month low of $51.61 and a 12 month high of $67.09.

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

Insider Activity

In other Essent Group news, Director Roy James Kasmar sold 3,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total value of $199,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 23,573 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,448,325.12. This trade represents 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 business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total value of $291,584.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 237,896 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,939,032. This trade represents a 1.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 3.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essent Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Essent Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,398,000. Cooke & Bieler LP increased its stake in shares of Essent Group by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,938,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $123,223,000 after acquiring an additional 318,318 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 531.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 25,157 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,599,000 after acquiring an additional 21,171 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Essent Group by 184.8% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 343,101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,837,000 after acquiring an additional 222,613 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Savant Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Essent Group in the second quarter worth $464,000. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.