Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) PT Set at $69.00 by Compass Point

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) has been assigned a $69.00 target price by Compass Point in a report issued on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Compass Point’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 19.88% from the stock’s current price.

ESNT has been the subject of several other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Essent Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.29.

Essent Group Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE ESNT opened at $57.56 on Friday. Essent Group has a 12 month low of $51.61 and a 12 month high of $65.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.41, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.87. The business has a 50-day moving average of $56.74 and a 200-day moving average of $56.38.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 9th. The financial services provider reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $317.56 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $311.18 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.35% and a net margin of 58.69%. Essent Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.70 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Essent Group will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essent Group

In related news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.80, for a total transaction of $179,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 27,165 shares in the company, valued at $1,624,467. This represents a 9.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 1,777 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.07, for a total value of $106,744.39. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 253,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,199,031.54. This represents a 0.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,001 shares of company stock worth $299,591. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essent Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ESNT. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Essent Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc bought a new position in Essent Group in the first quarter worth $25,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its holdings in Essent Group by 68.8% in the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in Essent Group in the first quarter worth $46,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in Essent Group by 53.3% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,125 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. 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.