JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Price Target to $67.00

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) had its price target lowered by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $68.00 to $67.00 in a research report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on ESNT. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Essent Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $65.00 to $70.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their target price on Essent Group from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Essent Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.83.

Essent Group Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE:ESNT traded down $0.77 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $53.34. The company had a trading volume of 187,756 shares, compared to its average volume of 505,242. The firm has a market cap of $5.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.84, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.12. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $62.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.36. Essent Group has a 52 week low of $47.56 and a 52 week high of $65.33.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.08). Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 60.15%. The firm had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $316.80 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.66 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 969.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Essent Group will post 7.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. Essent Group’s payout ratio is 16.23%.

Insider Activity at Essent Group

In other Essent Group news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.59, for a total value of $127,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 25,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,616,203.44. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Essent Group by 10.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,680,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $262,973,000 after buying an additional 445,853 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Essent Group by 3.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,917,819 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $709,229,000 after acquiring an additional 440,385 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in Essent Group by 94.1% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 739,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,019,000 after acquiring an additional 358,621 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Essent Group by 68.8% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 436,009 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,499,000 after purchasing an additional 177,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in shares of Essent Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $8,742,000. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.