Dividend Challengers 2025: Top 25

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16. Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Dividend Yield as of April 29: 2.20%

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) is a Bermuda-based insurance company that offers private mortgage insurance, reinsurance, and title insurance and settlement services to serve the housing finance industry. The company reported strong earnings in the fourth quarter of 2024, with revenue of over $315 million, up 6% from the same period last year. Its net investment income for FY24 came in at $222.1 million, up 19% on a YoY basis. New insurance written for Q4 amounted to $12.2 billion, growing from $8.8 billion in Q4 2023.

In its quarterly earnings report, the CEO emphasized that Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) is well-positioned to sustain strong returns and continue increasing its book value per share. The recent dividend hike and newly approved share repurchase program reflect management’s confidence in the reliability of the company’s cash flows and its commitment to maintaining a balanced capital management strategy going forward.

In February, Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) declared a 10.7% increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.31 per share. This was the company’s fifth consecutive year of dividend growth. Moreover, it has raised its dividends multiple times since 2020, which makes it one of the best dividend stocks on our dividend challengers list. As of April 29, the stock has a dividend yield of 2.20%.

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