The Goldman Sachs Group Has Lowered Expectations for Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Stock Price

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

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on ESNT. Barclays reduced 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 note on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price 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, November 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Essent Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $65.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. BTIG Research lifted their target price on shares of Essent Group from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.00.

Essent Group Stock Performance

Shares of Essent Group stock opened at $55.25 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 $5.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.01, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.12. The company’s fifty day moving average is $62.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.32.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last released its earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $316.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.66 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 969.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Essent Group will post 6.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.23%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 25,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,616,203.44. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 726.8% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 463 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 167.1% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 836 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 523 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

About Essent Group

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.