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

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) issued 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. Essent Group had a return on equity of 11.91% and a net margin of 51.45%. The company had revenue of $374.18 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $344.17 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $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 opened at $63.36 on Friday. Essent Group has a 52-week low of $55.34 and a 52-week high of $71.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.18. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $65.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.09. The firm has a market cap of $5.69 billion, a PE ratio of 8.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.71.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 1st. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Essent Group’s payout ratio is 19.13%.

Insider Activity at Essent Group

In other news, Director Douglas Pauls sold 2,500 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.70, for a total value of $174,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 30,154 shares in the company, valued at $2,101,733.80. The trade was a 7.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO David Weinstock sold 5,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.54, for a total transaction of $376,970.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 29,994 shares in the company, valued at $2,055,788.76. The trade was a 15.50% decrease in their position. 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 69,663 shares of company stock worth $4,866,555. Corporate insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group News Roundup

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on ESNT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Essent Group from $72.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 12th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Roth Capital increased their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of Essent Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $78.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Friday, October 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essent Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $70.75.

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.