Essent Group Ltd. (ESNT) shares plummeted 5.04% in pre-market trading on Friday, following the release of the company's fourth-quarter financial results that fell short of analyst expectations.

The Bermuda-based mortgage insurer reported quarterly earnings of $1.60 per share, missing the FactSet consensus estimate of $1.74. Revenue for the quarter was $312.404 million, slightly below the expected $312.621 million. While earnings showed a modest increase from $1.58 per share in the same period last year, revenue decreased by 0.83% year-over-year.

The decline in stock price appears to be driven by the earnings miss and a drop in new mortgage insurance written, which fell to $11.8 billion in Q4 2025 from $12.2 billion in both the previous quarter and the year-ago period. Despite the company announcing an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.35 per common share and highlighting strong capital management, including $576 million in share repurchases during 2025, investors reacted negatively to the earnings shortfall.