Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) Stock Breaks Below 50-Day Moving Average Following Weak Earnings

Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) passed below its fifty day moving average during trading on Friday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $65.58 and traded as low as $62.78. Essent Group shares last traded at $63.36, with a volume of 1,119,616 shares changing hands.

The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $374.18 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $344.17 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 51.45% and a return on equity of 11.91%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.67 earnings per share.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be given 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 is presently 19.53%.

Key Headlines 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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on ESNT shares. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Essent Group from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Essent Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 31st. Roth Capital raised their target price on Essent Group from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Essent Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Essent Group from $72.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essent Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $70.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO David Weinstock sold 5,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.54, for a total value of $376,970.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 29,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,055,788.76. This represents a 15.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Douglas Pauls sold 2,500 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.70, for a total value of $174,250.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 30,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,101,733.80. This trade represents a 7.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 69,663 shares of company stock worth $4,866,555. Company insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essent Group

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $798,836,000. Renaissancere Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group during the second quarter valued at about $107,114,521. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group during the second quarter valued at about $43,068,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Essent Group in the second quarter worth about $41,041,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Essent Group in the second quarter worth about $24,746,000. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Essent Group Stock Down 7.6%

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $65.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $63.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.69 billion, a PE ratio of 8.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.71.

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.