Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Announces Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.14 EPS

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) announced its earnings results on Friday. The financial services provider reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.74 by ($0.14), Briefing.com reports. The firm 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 business’s revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $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 Price Performance

ESNT traded down $4.70 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $60.95. 387,452 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 668,585. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $63.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.15 and a beta of 0.90. Essent Group has a one year low of $51.61 and a one year high of $67.09.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 4,352 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total value of $291,584.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 237,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,939,032. This represents a 1.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Essent Group

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Essent Group during the second quarter valued at $346,000. TD Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the 4th quarter worth about $241,000. Glenmede Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $204,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its position 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 worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 3,794 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in Essent Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $224,000. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ESNT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays cut their price target on Essent Group from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.29.

About Essent Group

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.