Essent Group (ESNT) to Release Quarterly Earnings on Friday

Key Points

• Essent Group will report Q1 2026 results before the market opens on Friday, May 8, with analysts projecting $1.72 EPS and $307.26M in revenue; the prior quarter missed EPS estimates ($1.60 vs. $1.74).
• Essent recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.35 (annualized $1.40), representing a ~2.3% yield and a payout ratio around 20%.
• Insiders sold shares on April 28 under pre‑arranged Rule 10b5‑1 plans (SVP Mary Gibbons 4,250 shares; CEO Mark Casale 13,064 shares), with insiders owning about 3.6% of the company.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) is projected to announce its Q1 2026 results before the market opens on Friday, May 8th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $1.72 per share and revenue of $307.2570 million for the quarter. Investors can check the company's upcoming Q1 2026 earning summary page for the latest details on the call scheduled for Friday, May 8, 2026 at 10:00 AM ET.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.74 by ($0.14). Essent Group had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 54.72%.The firm had revenue of $312.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $312.62 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.58 earnings per share. Essent Group's revenue for the quarter was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect Essent Group to post $7 EPS for the current fiscal year and $8 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Essent Group Price Performance

Shares of ESNT stock opened at $60.53 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The firm's 50-day moving average is $60.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.69. Essent Group has a 12 month low of $55.22 and a 12 month high of $67.09. The company has a market capitalization of $5.69 billion, a PE ratio of 8.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.87.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. This is a boost from Essent Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. Essent Group's payout ratio is presently 20.32%.

Insider Transactions at Essent Group

In other Essent Group news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 4,250 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.01, for a total transaction of $276,292.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 233,336 shares in the company, valued at $15,169,173.36. This trade represents a 1.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark Casale sold 13,064 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.05, for a total transaction of $849,813.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,218,480 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $144,312,124. This represents a 0.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 25,814 shares of company stock valued at $1,661,682. Company insiders own 3.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Essent Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ESNT. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $346,000. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 45.0% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,683 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $174,000 after purchasing an additional 833 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $241,000. Glenmede Investment Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $224,000. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on ESNT. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Roth Mkm lifted their target price 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. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Essent Group from $63.00 to $61.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 6th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Essent Group from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $67.86.

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.

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