The fourth quarter earnings were a mixed bag among the publicly traded companies, especially at the nation's No. 1 underwriter.

Lower rates did not translate to increased open orders during the period, as normal seasonal patterns on quarter-to-quarter volume applied.

But three of the big four did have higher year-over-year activity.

While the title segment performed well for Fidelity National Financial, the company still reported a net loss for the fourth quarter, affected by such things like the impact of the stock distribution in its F&G subsidiary.

"If interest rates trend lower, purchase mortgage volumes could increase and lead to positive estimate revisions, and we view title insurers as the best way in our coverage universe to gain exposure to an improvement in purchase volumes," Keefe Bruyette & Woods analyst Bose George wrote in notes on both FNF and First American, and expressed a similar sentiment in comments on Stewart.

The following is a roundup of fourth quarter results at the five publicly traded title underwriters, including the four major players in the industry.