Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.03 EPS

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

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 Price Performance

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

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 1st. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Essent Group from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Essent Group from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $72.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $70.75.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Vijay Bhasin sold 14,175 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $992,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 184,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,899,180. This represents a 7.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Roy Kasmar sold 4,837 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.71, for a total transaction of $332,350.27. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 21,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,467,714.31. The trade was a 18.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 69,663 shares of company stock valued at $4,866,555 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

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

About Essent Group

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.