Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.03 EPS

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday. The financial services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.03), Zacks reports. Essent Group had a net margin of 51.45% and a return on equity of 11.91%. The firm had revenue of $374.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $344.17 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.67 EPS.

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

• Essent reported $163 million in net income ($1.82 per diluted share) and an approximately 12% annualized return on equity; book value per share rose about 9% year over year, including dividends.
• Mortgage insurance growth is expected to remain muted as affordability pressures weigh on originations, while persistency eased to 83.3%. The default rate increased to 2.75% from 2.53% in the prior quarter, and loss provisions also rose.
• Management characterized higher defaults and claim severity as expected normalization tied to portfolio aging and larger loan balances, noting that home equity and reinsurance protection should help limit ultimate claims.
• Essent expects about $320 million in 2026 written premiums from P&C reinsurance, with roughly half earned this year and a high-90s combined ratio; the company said it is building the business cautiously.
• The company reported strong cash flow and capital, announced a new $500 million share repurchase authorization and a $0.35 fourth-quarter dividend, and said it had repurchased nearly 8 million shares for about $475 million through October 31.

Essent Group Stock Performance

NYSE ESNT traded down $5.24 on Friday, hitting $63.36. 1,119,616 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 781,850. The company has a market capitalization of $5.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $65.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.09. Essent Group has a 52-week low of $55.34 and a 52-week high of $71.84.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 1st. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essent Group

In other Essent Group news, CEO Mark Casale sold 798 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.01, for a total value of $55,867.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,038,893 shares in the company, valued at $142,742,898.93. This represents a 0.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO David Weinstock sold 5,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.54, for a total value of $376,970.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 29,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,055,788.76. The trade was a 15.50% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 69,663 shares of company stock valued at $4,866,555 in the last ninety days. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on ESNT. BTIG Research initiated coverage on Essent Group in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Essent Group from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $72.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Roth Capital raised their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essent Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $70.75.

Key Stories Impacting Essent Group

Here are the key news stories impacting Essent Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Essent authorized a new $500 million share repurchase plan, which could support per-share results and return capital to shareholders. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share. Essent outlines premiums and share repurchase plan Essent declares dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Third-quarter revenue was $374.2 million, above analysts’ roughly $344.2 million estimate. EPS also rose year over year, to $1.82 from $1.67. Essent posts better-than-expected sales
• Positive Sentiment: Essent outlined approximately $320 million in 2026 property-and-casualty written premiums, pointing to activity beyond its core mortgage insurance business. Essent outlines 2026 premiums
• Negative Sentiment: EPS of $1.82 missed consensus estimates of $1.85–$1.88. The modest shortfall may have overshadowed the revenue beat and year-over-year earnings growth. Essent lags Q3 earnings estimates

Essent Group Company Profile

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE: ESNT) is a Bermuda-based holding company that provides private mortgage insurance and related risk-management services in the United States. Through its operating subsidiaries, the company helps protect mortgage lenders and investors against losses when borrowers default on residential mortgage loans.

Its principal business is mortgage insurance for low-down-payment conventional residential mortgages, enabling qualified borrowers to obtain home financing with less than a 20% down payment.