Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT – Get Rating) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on ESNT. BTIG Research cut their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $54.00 to $45.00 in a report on Friday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $53.00 to $46.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 7th. TheStreet downgraded shares of Essent Group from a "b-" rating to a "c+" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $53.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Essent Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $44.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, January 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $45.60.

Essent Group Stock Up 0.5 %

Essent Group stock opened at $40.07 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.32 billion, a PE ratio of 5.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.17. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $38.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.07. Essent Group has a 52 week low of $34.27 and a 52 week high of $50.17.

Insider Transactions at Essent Group

In other news, Director Aditya Dutt sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.23, for a total transaction of $235,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 23,023 shares of the company's stock, valued at $903,192.29. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.90% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essent Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESNT. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Essent Group by 10.2% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 8,781,249 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $361,875,000 after purchasing an additional 815,259 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in Essent Group by 5.4% during the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 15,395,154 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $536,829,000 after purchasing an additional 794,094 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Essent Group by 4.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,590,130 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $436,419,000 after purchasing an additional 411,585 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Essent Group by 504.5% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 374,800 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $14,580,000 after purchasing an additional 312,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its stake in Essent Group by 7.0% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,375,800 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $180,327,000 after purchasing an additional 286,764 shares during the last quarter. 92.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Essent Group Company Profile

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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.

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