Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Issues Earnings Results

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

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 7.2%

Essent Group stock traded down $4.70 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $60.95. The stock had a trading volume of 387,452 shares, compared to its average volume of 668,585. Essent Group has a twelve month low of $51.61 and a twelve month high of $67.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.68. The firm has a market cap of $5.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.87, a PEG ratio of 4.15 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $63.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $62.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 4,352 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total value of $291,584.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 237,896 shares in the company, valued at $15,939,032. This represents a 1.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essent Group

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ESNT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Roth Mkm raised their target price on Essent Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Essent Group in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Essent Group from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essent Group 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.