Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Price Target Cut to $60.00 by Analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) had its target price lowered by The Goldman Sachs Group from $68.00 to $60.00 in a research report released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Essent Group from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Essent Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $65.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, BTIG Research upped their price target on Essent Group from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.00.

Essent Group Price Performance

NYSE ESNT opened at $53.62 on Tuesday. Essent Group has a 1 year low of $47.56 and a 1 year high of $65.33. The company has a market capitalization of $5.70 billion, a PE ratio of 7.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a fifty day moving average of $62.57 and a 200 day moving average of $59.36.

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

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors 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 2.09%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.23%.

Insider Activity at Essent Group

In other Essent Group news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.59, for a total transaction of $127,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 25,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,616,203.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essent Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Diversified Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group in the second quarter worth about $725,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Essent Group by 38.7% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 177,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,542,000 after purchasing an additional 49,393 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $780,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $977,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 3.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 440,385 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.