Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Price Target Cut to $66.00 by Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) had its target price reduced by investment analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $72.00 to $66.00 in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 6.06% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on ESNT. Roth Capital raised 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Essent Group from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Essent Group from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Finally, BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Essent Group in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essent Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $71.14.

Essent Group Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of ESNT traded down $0.26 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $62.23. The stock had a trading volume of 117,772 shares, compared to its average volume of 739,714. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market cap of $5.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.76. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $66.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $63.35. Essent Group has a 12-month low of $55.34 and a 12-month high of $70.37.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter. Essent Group had a return on equity of 11.91% and a net margin of 51.45%. The firm had revenue of $362.69 million for the quarter. Equities research analysts forecast that Essent Group will post 7.60 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Essent Group news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.70, for a total value of $174,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 30,154 shares in the company, valued at $2,101,733.80. This represents a 7.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 29,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,055,788.76. This trade represents a 15.50% 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. Insiders sold a total of 70,146 shares of company stock worth $4,900,365 in the last ninety days. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Essent Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $798,836,000. Renaissancere Holdings Ltd. purchased a new stake in Essent Group during the 2nd quarter worth $107,114,521. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Essent Group by 16.8% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 914,471 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $53,442,000 after buying an additional 131,823 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in Essent Group in the 2nd quarter worth $43,068,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Essent Group in the 2nd quarter worth $41,041,000. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essent Group Company Profile

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.