Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) was upgraded by equities research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a $60.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 13.67% from the company’s current price.

ESNT has been the subject of several other research reports. Barclays downgraded shares of Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $69.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Essent Group from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $67.00 target price on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.57.

Essent Group Stock Performance

NYSE ESNT opened at $52.79 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.80. The business’s fifty day moving average is $56.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.60. Essent Group has a 1 year low of $52.06 and a 1 year high of $65.34.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by ($0.09). The company 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 13.35% and a net margin of 58.69%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.64 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Essent Group will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Essent Group

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. NFC Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Essent Group by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. NFC Investments LLC now owns 56,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,086,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its position in 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 worth $129,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 238 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its holdings in Essent Group by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 6,988 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $380,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 47,469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,584,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the period. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.