Enact Posts Record Quarter as New Insurance Written Jumps 19%
Enact Holdings reported net income of $175 million, or $1.25 a diluted share, in the second quarter as new insurance written rebounded sharply to $15 billion.
Enact Holdings (ACT) reported GAAP net income of $175 million, or $1.25 a diluted share, for the second quarter of 2026, up from $168 million, or $1.18 a share, in the first quarter and from $168 million, or $1.11 a share, a year earlier. The mortgage insurer's adjusted operating income rose to $177 million, or $1.26 a share, from $172 million sequentially and $174 million a year ago.
The quarter's standout figure was new insurance written, which jumped 19% sequentially to $15 billion from $13 billion in the first quarter and rose 15% from $13 billion a year earlier. The rebound followed a first quarter in which NIW had fallen 11% from $14 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025, making the second-quarter volume a reacceleration rather than a continuation of that softness. Primary insurance in force grew more modestly, up about 1% sequentially to $274 billion and 2% higher than the $270 billion reported a year earlier.
Credit performance showed mixed signals. The loss ratio improved sequentially to 14% from 15% in the first quarter but remained above the 10% recorded a year earlier, and the reserve release that has cushioned results narrowed to $37 million from $39 million in the first quarter and $48 million in the second quarter of 2025. The expense ratio rose to 21% from 20% sequentially, due to about $1 million of one-time reorganization costs, though it remained below the 22% recorded a year earlier. Net investment income extended a four-quarter streak of sequential growth, rising to $73 million from $71 million, linked to higher book yield and a larger invested-asset base.
Persistency held at 80% for a third straight quarter, unchanged from the first quarter but down from 82% a year earlier, continuing a decline that has run from 84% in the first quarter of 2025 through 83% in the third quarter and 80% since the fourth quarter. Return on equity rose to 13.0% from 12.5% sequentially, matching the 13.0% posted a year earlier, while adjusted operating ROE ticked up to 13.2% from 12.9% but remained below the 13.4% recorded in the second quarter of 2025.
Book value per share climbed to $39.06 from $38.09 in the first quarter and $35.20 a year earlier, marking a fifth consecutive quarter of sequential gains. PMIERs sufficiency, a regulatory capital measure, eased to 161% from 162% in the first quarter, extending a five-quarter decline from 165% in the second quarter of 2025 even as the dollar cushion has held near $1.9 billion.
Enact raised its full-year 2026 capital return guidance to a range of $550 million to $600 million, a figure not included in the first-quarter release, which offered no updated full-year target. The company repurchased $93 million of stock in the quarter, or 2.2 million shares at an average price of $42.58, leaving $345 million available under its $500 million authorization after a further $30 million bought back through July 31. Enact Mortgage Insurance Corp. completed a $150 million dividend to the holding company during the quarter.
The quarterly dividend held at $0.24 a share, unchanged from the level set after increases from $0.21 a share seen in the second and third quarters of 2025. Net premiums earned rose 1% sequentially to $245 million from $243 million, flat against the $245 million reported a year earlier, reversing a slight sequential decline recorded in the first quarter.