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Essent Group (ESNT) Competitors

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$61.82 -0.07 (-0.11%)
Closing price 10/7/2026 03:58 PM Eastern
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$61.90 +0.09 (+0.14%)
As of 04:01 AM Eastern
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ESNT vs. ACT, NMIH, UBSI, CNO, and FNB

Should you buy Essent Group stock or one of its competitors? Essent Group's main competitors and comparable companies include Enact (ACT), NMI (NMIH), United Bankshares (UBSI), CNO Financial Group (CNO), and F.N.B. (FNB). Companies are selected based on similarities in market, industry, and size.

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 contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, risk, profitability, institutional ownership and media sentiment.

In the previous week, Essent Group had 2 more articles in the media than Enact. MarketBeat recorded 5 mentions for Essent Group and 3 mentions for Enact. Enact's average media sentiment score of 1.11 beat Essent Group's score of 0.22 indicating that Enact is being referred to more favorably in the media.

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

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

Enact has a net margin of 54.51% compared to Essent Group's net margin of 51.45%. Enact's return on equity of 12.98% beat Essent Group's return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
Enact54.51% 12.98% 10.04%
Essent Group 51.45%11.91%9.09%

Essent Group has a consensus target price of $72.00, indicating a potential upside of 16.47%. 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)
3 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.33

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$1.24B5.18$674.24M$4.759.65
Essent Group$1.26B4.41$689.97M$7.178.62

Enact has a beta of 0.51, suggesting that its share price is 49% 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.

Enact pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Essent Group pays an annual dividend of $1.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. Enact pays out 20.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Essent Group pays out 19.5% 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 increased its dividend for 3 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 Enact on 13 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does Essent Group compare to NMI?

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

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
NMI$706.44M4.21$388.93M$5.087.78
Essent Group$1.26B4.41$689.97M$7.178.62

In the previous week, Essent Group had 4 more articles in the media than NMI. MarketBeat recorded 5 mentions for Essent Group and 1 mentions for NMI. NMI's average media sentiment score of 0.53 beat Essent Group's score of 0.22 indicating that NMI is being referred to more favorably in the media.

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

94.1% of NMI shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.0% of Essent Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.4% of NMI shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 3.6% of Essent Group shares are owned 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.

NMI presently has a consensus target price of $49.14, indicating a potential upside of 24.29%. Essent Group has a consensus target price of $72.00, indicating a potential upside of 16.47%. Given NMI's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe NMI is more favorable than Essent Group.

Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
NMI
0 Sell rating(s)
2 Hold rating(s)
5 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.71
Essent Group
0 Sell rating(s)
6 Hold rating(s)
3 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.33

NMI has a beta of 0.56, meaning that its stock price is 44% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, Essent Group has a beta of 0.76, meaning that its stock price is 24% less volatile than the broader market.

NMI has a net margin of 54.10% compared to Essent Group's net margin of 51.45%. NMI's return on equity of 15.13% beat Essent Group's return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
NMI54.10% 15.13% 10.21%
Essent Group 51.45%11.91%9.09%

Summary

NMI and Essent Group tied by winning 8 of the 16 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 superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, dividends, risk, valuation and media sentiment.

Essent Group has a net margin of 51.45% compared to United Bankshares' net margin of 27.97%. Essent Group's return on equity of 11.91% beat United Bankshares' return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
Essent Group51.45% 11.91% 9.09%
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 2.3%. United Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $1.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. Essent Group pays out 19.5% 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.

Essent Group currently has a consensus target price of $72.00, suggesting a potential upside of 16.47%. United Bankshares has a consensus target price of $47.80, suggesting a potential upside of 5.43%. Given Essent Group's higher probable upside, equities research 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)
3 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.33
United Bankshares
0 Sell rating(s)
4 Hold rating(s)
3 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.43

In the previous week, Essent Group had 1 more articles in the media than United Bankshares. MarketBeat recorded 5 mentions for Essent Group and 4 mentions for United Bankshares. United Bankshares' average media sentiment score of 1.04 beat Essent Group's score of 0.22 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
2 Very Positive mention(s)
0 Positive mention(s)
1 Neutral mention(s)
1 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Neutral
United Bankshares
1 Very Positive mention(s)
3 Positive mention(s)
0 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$1.26B4.41$689.97M$7.178.62
United Bankshares$1.82B3.39$464.60M$3.6712.35

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

Essent Group has a beta of 0.76, indicating that its stock price is 24% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, United Bankshares has a beta of 0.72, indicating that its stock price is 28% less volatile than the broader market.

Summary

Essent Group beats United Bankshares on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does Essent Group compare to CNO Financial Group?

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

Essent Group pays an annual dividend of $1.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. CNO Financial Group pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Essent Group pays out 19.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. CNO Financial Group pays out 24.7% 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 increased its dividend for 6 consecutive years and CNO Financial Group has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Essent Group is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Essent Group has higher earnings, but lower revenue 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
Essent Group$1.26B4.41$689.97M$7.178.62
CNO Financial Group$4.49B1.09$229.30M$2.9118.22

Essent Group presently has a consensus target price of $72.00, suggesting a potential upside of 16.47%. CNO Financial Group has a consensus target price of $56.00, suggesting a potential upside of 5.61%. Given Essent Group's higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Essent Group is more favorable than CNO Financial Group.

Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
Essent Group
0 Sell rating(s)
6 Hold rating(s)
3 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.33
CNO Financial Group
0 Sell rating(s)
3 Hold rating(s)
2 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.40

Essent Group has a net margin of 51.45% 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
Essent Group51.45% 11.91% 9.09%
CNO Financial Group 6.02%18.76%1.24%

In the previous week, Essent Group had 3 more articles in the media than CNO Financial Group. MarketBeat recorded 5 mentions for Essent Group and 2 mentions for CNO Financial Group. CNO Financial Group's average media sentiment score of 1.31 beat Essent Group's score of 0.22 indicating that CNO Financial Group is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment
Essent Group
2 Very Positive mention(s)
0 Positive mention(s)
1 Neutral mention(s)
1 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Neutral
CNO Financial Group
1 Very Positive mention(s)
1 Positive mention(s)
0 Neutral mention(s)
0 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive

Essent Group has a beta of 0.76, meaning that its share price is 24% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, CNO Financial Group has a beta of 0.8, meaning that its share price is 20% less volatile than the broader market.

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

Summary

Essent Group beats CNO Financial Group on 12 of the 19 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 investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their media sentiment, dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, profitability and institutional ownership.

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

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.$2.69B2.24$565M$1.6810.16
Essent Group$1.26B4.41$689.97M$7.178.62

Essent Group has a net margin of 51.45% compared to F.N.B.'s net margin of 22.29%. Essent Group's return on equity of 11.91% 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 51.45%11.91%9.09%

F.N.B. presently has a consensus target price of $20.58, indicating a potential upside of 20.62%. Essent Group has a consensus target price of $72.00, indicating a potential upside of 16.47%. Given F.N.B.'s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, 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)
2 Hold rating(s)
5 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.71
Essent Group
0 Sell rating(s)
6 Hold rating(s)
3 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.33

F.N.B. pays an annual dividend of $0.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Essent Group pays an annual dividend of $1.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. F.N.B. pays out 31.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Essent Group pays out 19.5% 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.

F.N.B. has a beta of 0.87, suggesting that its share price is 13% 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.

In the previous week, Essent Group had 2 more articles in the media than F.N.B.. MarketBeat recorded 5 mentions for Essent Group and 3 mentions for F.N.B.. Essent Group's average media sentiment score of 0.22 beat F.N.B.'s score of 0.10 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.
0 Very Positive mention(s)
1 Positive mention(s)
2 Neutral mention(s)
0 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Neutral
Essent Group
2 Very Positive mention(s)
0 Positive mention(s)
1 Neutral mention(s)
1 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Neutral

Summary

Essent Group beats F.N.B. on 12 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$5.56B$27.13B$13.40B$23.02B
Dividend Yield2.26%6.86%6.04%3.71%
P/E Ratio8.6219.2424.7427.87
Price / Sales4.41338.01489.0219.88
Price / Cash8.43248.3945.2438.14
Price / Book1.043.232.694.67
Net Income$689.97M$1.12B$1.32B$1.07B
7 Day Performance4.97%-0.05%-0.55%0.09%
1 Month Performance-9.64%-1.95%-3.33%-5.44%
1 Year Performance3.62%-13.27%9.48%4.72%

Essent Group Competitors List

CompanyMarketRankShare PriceAnalysts' Price Target1Y Price PerformanceMarket CapRevenueP/E RatioEmployee CountIndicator(s)
ESNT
Essent Group
4.1457 of 5 stars
$61.82
-0.1%
$72.00
+16.5%
+3.0%$5.56B$1.26B8.62518
ACT
Enact
N/A$46.16
-1.7%
$35.00
-24.2%
+27.6%$6.44B$1.24B9.71500
NMIH
NMI
3.9203 of 5 stars
$40.44
-1.3%
$49.14
+21.5%
+9.7%$3.04B$706.44M7.95225
UBSI
United Bankshares
3.7327 of 5 stars
$46.06
-1.4%
$47.80
+3.8%
+22.2%$6.27B$1.82B12.552,694
CNO
CNO Financial Group
3.4258 of 5 stars
$52.81
-1.6%
$56.00
+6.1%
+33.2%$4.89B$4.49B18.153,300

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This page (NYSE:ESNT) was last updated on 10/8/2026 by MarketBeat.com Staff.
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