Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Has Lowered Expectations for Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Stock Price

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) had its price target dropped by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $75.00 to $72.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target would indicate a potential upside of 33.26% from the stock’s current price.

ESNT has been the subject of several other reports. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays lowered shares of Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.71.

Essent Group Stock Performance

NYSE ESNT traded down $0.16 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $54.03. 41,991 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 486,352. The company has a market capitalization of $5.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.11. The business’s 50 day moving average is $55.55 and its 200-day moving average is $59.27. Essent Group has a 1 year low of $50.65 and a 1 year high of $65.33.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.08). Essent Group had a net margin of 60.15% and a return on equity of 13.81%. The business had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $316.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.66 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 969.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Essent Group will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essent Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Essent Group by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,680,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $262,973,000 after purchasing an additional 445,853 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Essent Group by 1.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,206,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $270,425,000 after buying an additional 59,750 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Essent Group by 0.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,551,145 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $99,723,000 after buying an additional 12,431 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Essent Group by 10.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,021,343 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $65,662,000 after buying an additional 99,604 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 750,778 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,268,000 after buying an additional 10,684 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Company Profile

Essent Group Ltd., through its subsidiaries, provides private mortgage insurance and reinsurance for mortgages secured by residential properties located in the United States. Its mortgage insurance products include primary, pool, and master policy. The company also provides information technology maintenance and development services; customer support-related services; underwriting consulting; and contract underwriting services, as well as risk management products and title insurance and settlement services.