Barclays Downgrades Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) to Equal Weight

Barclays downgraded shares of Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a report published on Monday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has $58.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $69.00.

ESNT has been the subject of several other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Essent Group from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.71.

Essent Group Stock Performance

Essent Group stock opened at $55.01 on Monday. Essent Group has a twelve month low of $50.65 and a twelve month high of $65.33. The firm has a market cap of $5.84 billion, a PE ratio of 7.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.09. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $55.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.24.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.08). Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 60.15%. 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 company posted $1.66 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 969.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Essent Group will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.04%. Essent Group’s payout ratio is presently 16.23%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ESNT. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Essent Group by 726.8% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 463 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Essent Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Quarry LP grew its holdings in Essent Group by 167.1% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 836 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 523 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Essent Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 53.9% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $88,000 after buying an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. 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.