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Essent Group (ESNT) Competitors

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$65.58 -0.93 (-1.40%)
Closing price 08/6/2026 03:59 PM Eastern
Extended Trading
$67.08 +1.50 (+2.29%)
As of 06:30 AM Eastern
Extended trading is trading that happens on electronic markets outside of regular trading hours. This is a fair market value extended hours price provided by Massive. Learn more.

ESNT vs. ACT, NMIH, UBSI, CNO, and FNB

Should you buy Essent Group stock or one of its competitors? MarketBeat compares Essent Group with other companies and stocks that may be similar based on industry, sector, market capitalization, business model, investor interest, or shared news coverage. Companies and stocks commonly compared with Essent Group include Enact (ACT), NMI (NMIH), United Bankshares (UBSI), CNO Financial Group (CNO), and F.N.B. (FNB).

How does Essent Group compare to Enact?

Enact (NASDAQ:ACT) and Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) are related mid-cap companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, media sentiment, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, valuation and dividends.

Enact has a net margin of 54.51% compared to Essent Group's net margin of 53.64%. Enact's return on equity of 13.02% beat Essent Group's return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
Enact54.51% 13.02% 10.06%
Essent Group 53.64%12.01%9.28%

Essent Group has higher revenue and earnings than Enact. Essent Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Enact, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings Ratio
Enact$1.24B5.50$674.24M$4.7510.25
Essent Group$1.26B4.79$689.97M$7.029.34

In the previous week, Enact and Enact both had 6 articles in the media. Essent Group's average media sentiment score of 0.77 beat Enact's score of 0.71 indicating that Essent Group is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment
Enact
0 Very Positive mention(s)
0 Positive mention(s)
4 Neutral mention(s)
0 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive
Essent Group
4 Very Positive mention(s)
0 Positive mention(s)
2 Neutral mention(s)
0 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive

18.0% of Enact shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.0% of Essent Group shares are held by institutional investors. 0.6% of Enact shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.6% of Essent Group shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Enact has a beta of 0.49, suggesting that its share price is 51% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, Essent Group has a beta of 0.76, suggesting that its share price is 24% less volatile than the broader market.

Essent Group has a consensus price target of $67.71, indicating a potential upside of 3.26%. Given Essent Group's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Essent Group is more favorable than Enact.

Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
Enact
0 Sell rating(s)
0 Hold rating(s)
0 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
0.00
Essent Group
0 Sell rating(s)
6 Hold rating(s)
4 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.40

Enact pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Essent Group pays an annual dividend of $1.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Enact pays out 20.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Essent Group pays out 19.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Enact has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years and Essent Group has raised its dividend for 6 consecutive years. Essent Group is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Essent Group beats Enact on 13 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does Essent Group compare to NMI?

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) and NMI (NASDAQ:NMIH) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their media sentiment, earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, institutional ownership, profitability and risk.

In the previous week, NMI had 21 more articles in the media than Essent Group. MarketBeat recorded 27 mentions for NMI and 6 mentions for Essent Group. Essent Group's average media sentiment score of 0.77 beat NMI's score of 0.46 indicating that Essent Group is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment
Essent Group
4 Very Positive mention(s)
0 Positive mention(s)
2 Neutral mention(s)
0 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive
NMI
7 Very Positive mention(s)
5 Positive mention(s)
10 Neutral mention(s)
0 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Neutral

Essent Group has higher revenue and earnings than NMI. NMI is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Essent Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings Ratio
Essent Group$1.26B4.79$689.97M$7.029.34
NMI$706.44M4.69$388.93M$5.088.67

Essent Group has a beta of 0.76, meaning that its share price is 24% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, NMI has a beta of 0.54, meaning that its share price is 46% less volatile than the broader market.

93.0% of Essent Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 94.1% of NMI shares are held by institutional investors. 3.6% of Essent Group shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.4% of NMI shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

NMI has a net margin of 54.10% compared to Essent Group's net margin of 53.64%. NMI's return on equity of 15.13% beat Essent Group's return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
Essent Group53.64% 12.01% 9.28%
NMI 54.10%15.13%10.21%

Essent Group currently has a consensus target price of $67.71, indicating a potential upside of 3.26%. NMI has a consensus target price of $48.33, indicating a potential upside of 9.72%. Given NMI's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe NMI is more favorable than Essent Group.

Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
Essent Group
0 Sell rating(s)
6 Hold rating(s)
4 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.40
NMI
0 Sell rating(s)
2 Hold rating(s)
4 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.67

Summary

Essent Group beats NMI on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does Essent Group compare to United Bankshares?

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) and United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, earnings, media sentiment, profitability, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Essent Group has a beta of 0.76, meaning that its share price is 24% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, United Bankshares has a beta of 0.71, meaning that its share price is 29% less volatile than the broader market.

Essent Group has a net margin of 53.64% compared to United Bankshares' net margin of 27.97%. Essent Group's return on equity of 12.01% beat United Bankshares' return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
Essent Group53.64% 12.01% 9.28%
United Bankshares 27.97%9.39%1.53%

Essent Group pays an annual dividend of $1.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. United Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $1.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Essent Group pays out 19.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. United Bankshares pays out 41.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Essent Group has raised its dividend for 6 consecutive years and United Bankshares has raised its dividend for 26 consecutive years. United Bankshares is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

In the previous week, Essent Group had 2 more articles in the media than United Bankshares. MarketBeat recorded 6 mentions for Essent Group and 4 mentions for United Bankshares. United Bankshares' average media sentiment score of 1.15 beat Essent Group's score of 0.77 indicating that United Bankshares is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment
Essent Group
4 Very Positive mention(s)
0 Positive mention(s)
2 Neutral mention(s)
0 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive
United Bankshares
2 Very Positive mention(s)
1 Positive mention(s)
1 Neutral mention(s)
0 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive

Essent Group has higher earnings, but lower revenue than United Bankshares. Essent Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than United Bankshares, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings Ratio
Essent Group$1.26B4.79$689.97M$7.029.34
United Bankshares$1.82B3.68$464.60M$3.6713.24

93.0% of Essent Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 70.8% of United Bankshares shares are held by institutional investors. 3.6% of Essent Group shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.2% of United Bankshares shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Essent Group presently has a consensus price target of $67.71, suggesting a potential upside of 3.26%. United Bankshares has a consensus price target of $47.80, suggesting a potential downside of 1.61%. Given Essent Group's higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Essent Group is more favorable than United Bankshares.

Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
Essent Group
0 Sell rating(s)
6 Hold rating(s)
4 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.40
United Bankshares
0 Sell rating(s)
4 Hold rating(s)
3 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.43

Summary

Essent Group beats United Bankshares on 13 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does Essent Group compare to CNO Financial Group?

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) and Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, dividends, valuation, earnings, media sentiment, institutional ownership and profitability.

95.4% of CNO Financial Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.0% of Essent Group shares are held by institutional investors. 3.4% of CNO Financial Group shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.6% of Essent Group shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

CNO Financial Group has a beta of 0.81, indicating that its share price is 19% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, Essent Group has a beta of 0.76, indicating that its share price is 24% less volatile than the broader market.

Essent Group has lower revenue, but higher earnings than CNO Financial Group. Essent Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than CNO Financial Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings Ratio
CNO Financial Group$4.49B1.15$229.30M$2.9119.07
Essent Group$1.26B4.79$689.97M$7.029.34

Essent Group has a net margin of 53.64% compared to CNO Financial Group's net margin of 6.02%. CNO Financial Group's return on equity of 18.76% beat Essent Group's return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
CNO Financial Group6.02% 18.76% 1.24%
Essent Group 53.64%12.01%9.28%

In the previous week, CNO Financial Group had 17 more articles in the media than Essent Group. MarketBeat recorded 23 mentions for CNO Financial Group and 6 mentions for Essent Group. Essent Group's average media sentiment score of 0.77 beat CNO Financial Group's score of 0.71 indicating that Essent Group is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment
CNO Financial Group
6 Very Positive mention(s)
5 Positive mention(s)
7 Neutral mention(s)
0 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive
Essent Group
4 Very Positive mention(s)
0 Positive mention(s)
2 Neutral mention(s)
0 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive

CNO Financial Group currently has a consensus price target of $52.50, indicating a potential downside of 5.41%. Essent Group has a consensus price target of $67.71, indicating a potential upside of 3.26%. Given Essent Group's higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Essent Group is more favorable than CNO Financial Group.

Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
CNO Financial Group
0 Sell rating(s)
3 Hold rating(s)
2 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.40
Essent Group
0 Sell rating(s)
6 Hold rating(s)
4 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.40

CNO Financial Group pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. Essent Group pays an annual dividend of $1.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. CNO Financial Group pays out 24.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Essent Group pays out 19.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. CNO Financial Group has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years and Essent Group has increased its dividend for 6 consecutive years. Essent Group is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Essent Group beats CNO Financial Group on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does Essent Group compare to F.N.B.?

F.N.B. (NYSE:FNB) and Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their media sentiment, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk, profitability, institutional ownership, dividends and valuation.

Essent Group has lower revenue, but higher earnings than F.N.B.. Essent Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than F.N.B., indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings Ratio
F.N.B.$2.69B2.51$565M$1.6811.30
Essent Group$1.26B4.79$689.97M$7.029.34

F.N.B. presently has a consensus price target of $20.70, indicating a potential upside of 9.00%. Essent Group has a consensus price target of $67.71, indicating a potential upside of 3.26%. Given F.N.B.'s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe F.N.B. is more favorable than Essent Group.

Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
F.N.B.
0 Sell rating(s)
1 Hold rating(s)
5 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.83
Essent Group
0 Sell rating(s)
6 Hold rating(s)
4 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.40

79.3% of F.N.B. shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.0% of Essent Group shares are held by institutional investors. 1.5% of F.N.B. shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.6% of Essent Group shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Essent Group has a net margin of 53.64% compared to F.N.B.'s net margin of 22.29%. Essent Group's return on equity of 12.01% beat F.N.B.'s return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
F.N.B.22.29% 9.10% 1.22%
Essent Group 53.64%12.01%9.28%

F.N.B. pays an annual dividend of $0.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Essent Group pays an annual dividend of $1.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. F.N.B. pays out 31.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Essent Group pays out 19.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Essent Group has raised its dividend for 6 consecutive years.

In the previous week, F.N.B. had 5 more articles in the media than Essent Group. MarketBeat recorded 11 mentions for F.N.B. and 6 mentions for Essent Group. Essent Group's average media sentiment score of 0.77 beat F.N.B.'s score of 0.49 indicating that Essent Group is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment
F.N.B.
1 Very Positive mention(s)
2 Positive mention(s)
0 Neutral mention(s)
0 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Neutral
Essent Group
4 Very Positive mention(s)
0 Positive mention(s)
2 Neutral mention(s)
0 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive

F.N.B. has a beta of 0.85, suggesting that its stock price is 15% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, Essent Group has a beta of 0.76, suggesting that its stock price is 24% less volatile than the broader market.

Summary

Essent Group beats F.N.B. on 11 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.

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New MarketBeat Followers Over Time

This chart shows the number of new MarketBeat users adding ESNT and its top 5 competitors to their watchlist. Each company is represented with a line over a 90 day period.
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Media Sentiment Over Time

This chart shows the average media sentiment of NYSE and its competitors over the past 90 days as caculated by MarketBeat. The averaged score is equivalent to the following: Very Negative Sentiment <= -1.5, Negative Sentiment > -1.5 and <= -0.5, Neutral Sentiment > -0.5 and < 0.5, Positive Sentiment >= 0.5 and < 1.5, and Very Positive Sentiment >= 1.5.
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ESNT vs. The Competition

MetricEssent GroupFinancial Services IndustryFinance SectorNYSE Exchange
Market Cap$6.13B$27.64B$14.08B$24.14B
Dividend Yield2.10%5.78%5.91%3.70%
P/E Ratio9.3417.8529.1930.00
Price / Sales4.79386.84500.2112.73
Price / Cash9.06162.4439.2533.25
Price / Book1.103.223.736.84
Net Income$689.97M$1.08B$1.31B$1.06B
7 Day Performance-0.64%1.66%1.19%1.93%
1 Month Performance1.42%-1.43%0.94%1.63%
1 Year Performance15.17%-8.75%13.28%19.09%

Essent Group Competitors List

CompanyMarketRankShare PriceAnalysts' Price Target1Y Price PerformanceMarket CapRevenueP/E RatioEmployee CountIndicator(s)
ESNT
Essent Group
3.7789 of 5 stars
$65.58
-1.4%
$67.71
+3.3%
+13.3%$6.13B$1.26B9.34350
ACT
Enact
N/A$47.89
+0.0%
$35.00
-26.9%
+34.4%$6.68B$1.24B10.38500
NMIH
NMI
3.2989 of 5 stars
$44.65
+0.1%
$48.33
+8.3%
+15.0%$3.39B$706.44M8.78234
UBSI
United Bankshares
3.3695 of 5 stars
$49.45
+1.1%
$47.80
-3.3%
+36.4%$6.81B$1.82B13.472,694
CNO
CNO Financial Group
3.8647 of 5 stars
$55.48
+0.4%
$52.50
-5.4%
+50.5%$5.18B$4.49B19.073,300

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This page (NYSE:ESNT) was last updated on 8/7/2026 by MarketBeat.com Staff.
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