Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Stock

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) had its price objective upped by analysts at Barclays from $65.00 to $66.00 in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Barclays‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 6.59% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Essent Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Essent Group from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Roth Capital boosted their price objective on Essent Group from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Essent Group from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Essent Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $72.00.

Essent Group Price Performance

ESNT stock opened at $61.92 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The company’s 50-day moving average is $66.91 and its 200-day moving average is $63.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.57 billion, a PE ratio of 8.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.76. Essent Group has a 1 year low of $55.34 and a 1 year high of $70.37.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter. Essent Group had a return on equity of 11.91% and a net margin of 51.45%.The business had revenue of $362.69 million during the quarter. Equities research analysts expect that Essent Group will post 7.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Essent Group

In related news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.54, for a total transaction of $376,970.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 29,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,055,788.76. This represents a 15.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Vijay Bhasin sold 14,175 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $992,250.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 184,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,899,180. This trade represents a 7.14% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 70,146 shares of company stock worth $4,900,365. 3.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $798,836,000. Renaissancere Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in Essent Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $107,114,521. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in Essent Group during the second quarter valued at $43,068,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Essent Group during the second quarter valued at $41,041,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Essent Group during the second quarter valued at $24,746,000. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Essent Group

Essent Group Ltd. is a Bermuda-based holding company focused on private mortgage insurance and related risk-management solutions for the U.S. residential mortgage market. Through its subsidiaries, the company helps protect mortgage lenders and investors against losses when borrowers default on home loans.

Essent’s primary business is conducted through Essent Guaranty, Inc, which provides mortgage insurance for conventional residential mortgages, generally supporting loans made to borrowers with down payments below traditional thresholds.