GHP Investment Advisors Inc. Sells 768 Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

GHP Investment Advisors Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 49,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 768 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $2,676,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Essent Group by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 6,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $413,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Essent Group by 2.0% in the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 15,552 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,000,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its position in Essent Group by 1.3% in the third quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 32,752 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,106,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 726.8% during 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 period. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 15.8% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,009 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $193,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays lowered shares of Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $69.00 to $58.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Essent Group from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.71.

Essent Group Price Performance

Shares of ESNT opened at $59.03 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.27 billion, a PE ratio of 8.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.11. Essent Group Ltd. has a one year low of $50.65 and a one year high of $65.33.

Essent Group Profile

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.