Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Given Outperform Rating at Royal Bank of Canada

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reissued by Royal Bank of Canada in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $67.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target points to a potential upside of 18.95% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Essent Group from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Essent Group from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Barclays downgraded Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.57.

Essent Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ESNT traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $56.33. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,381,570 shares, compared to its average volume of 781,614. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.98 billion, a PE ratio of 8.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $56.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.02. Essent Group has a 52 week low of $51.69 and a 52 week high of $65.33.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $315.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $313.88 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 60.15%. Essent Group’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.64 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Essent Group will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. NFC Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Essent Group by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. NFC Investments LLC now owns 56,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,086,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of Essent Group by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $129,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its stake in shares of Essent Group by 68.8% during the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in Essent Group by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 6,988 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $380,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Essent Group by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 47,469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,584,000 after purchasing an additional 287 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.