Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Releases Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.14 EPS

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) released its quarterly earnings data on Friday. The financial services provider reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by ($0.14), Briefing.com reports. Essent Group had a net margin of 55.63% and a return on equity of 12.40%. The firm had revenue of $312.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $312.62 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.58 earnings per share. Essent Group’s revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Here are the key takeaways from Essent Group’s conference call:

• Essent reported Q4 net income of $155 million ($1.60/share) and full‑year net income of $690 million ($6.90/share), with a 12% ROE and book value per share up 13% to $60.31.
• The company returned nearly $700 million to shareholders in 2025 (dividends and repurchases), retired ~10% of shares, and the board approved a 13% dividend increase to $0.35 starting Q1 2026, supported by strong liquidity (consolidated cash & investments $6.6B; GAAP equity $5.8B).
• Essent Re is expanding into P&C and Lloyd’s‑backed business, earning nearly $80 million in third‑party net income in 2025, ending the year with $2.3B in risk, and expecting $100–150M of written premium that could provide supplemental earnings.
• Management expects only modest near‑term growth in earned premium and insurance‑in‑force amid higher mortgage rates, while Q4 mortgage loss provisions rose to $55.2M (FY ≈$145M) and the portfolio default rate ticked up to 2.5%, which could pressure short‑term results.

Essent Group Trading Down 6.6%

ESNT stock traded down $4.33 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $61.32. The company had a trading volume of 436,270 shares, compared to its average volume of 671,035. The stock has a market cap of $5.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.92, a PEG ratio of 4.15 and a beta of 0.90. Essent Group has a 52 week low of $51.61 and a 52 week high of $67.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $63.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $62.29.

Insider Activity at Essent Group

In related news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 4,352 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total transaction of $291,584.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 237,896 shares in the company, valued at $15,939,032. This represents a 1.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESNT. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Essent Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $346,000. TD Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in Essent Group in the fourth quarter worth $241,000. Glenmede Investment Management LP bought a new position in Essent Group in the third quarter worth $204,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 285.5% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 5,123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $301,000 after buying an additional 3,794 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $224,000. 93.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ESNT has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Essent Group from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Roth Mkm increased their price target on shares of Essent Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.29.

Essent Group Company Profile

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE: ESNT) is a publicly traded insurance holding company specializing in private mortgage insurance and mortgage reinsurance solutions. Through its primary subsidiary, Essent Guaranty, the company provides credit protection to mortgage lenders, helping mitigate the risk of borrower default on residential mortgage loans. Essent’s insurance policies enable lenders to offer low-down-payment programs, supporting homebuyers in achieving homeownership with reduced upfront equity requirements.

Beyond traditional mortgage insurance, Essent offers a suite of risk management and analytics services designed to help financial institutions monitor and manage mortgage portfolios.