Essent Group (ESNT) Competitors

$62.08 +1.67 (+2.76%)

Closing price 05/18/2026 03:59 PM Eastern

Extended Trading

$62.08 0.00 (0.00%)

As of 05/18/2026 05:44 PM Eastern

ESNT vs. ACT, EWBC, NMIH, FNB, and FNF

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), East West Bancorp (EWBC), NMI (NMIH), F.N.B. (FNB), and Fidelity National Financial (FNF). These companies are all part of the "finance" sector.

How does Essent Group compare to Enact?

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

Enact has a net margin of 54.49% 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
Enact	54.49%	13.02%	10.05%
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.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Enact	$1.24B	4.97	$674.24M	$4.61	9.55
Essent Group	$1.26B	4.54	$689.97M	$7.02	8.84

Essent Group has a consensus target price of $68.00, indicating a potential upside of 9.54%. 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

18.0% of Enact shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.0% of Essent Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.6% of Enact shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.6% of Essent Group shares are owned by company 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.

In the previous week, Essent Group had 8 more articles in the media than Enact. MarketBeat recorded 8 mentions for Essent Group and 0 mentions for Enact. Enact's average media sentiment score of 1.89 beat Essent Group's score of 0.67 indicating that Enact is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Overall Sentiment
Enact	Very Positive
Essent Group	Positive

Enact pays an annual dividend of $0.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. Essent Group pays an annual dividend of $1.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. Enact pays out 18.2% 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.

Enact has a beta of 0.53, suggesting that its share price is 47% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, Essent Group has a beta of 0.81, suggesting that its share price is 19% less volatile than the broader market.

Summary

Essent Group beats Enact on 12 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does Essent Group compare to East West Bancorp?

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

In the previous week, East West Bancorp had 7 more articles in the media than Essent Group. MarketBeat recorded 15 mentions for East West Bancorp and 8 mentions for Essent Group. East West Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 0.97 beat Essent Group's score of 0.67 indicating that East West Bancorp is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
East West Bancorp	4 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Essent Group	3 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

89.5% of East West Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.0% of Essent Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.9% of East West Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.6% of Essent Group shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

East West Bancorp has a beta of 0.97, suggesting that its stock price is 3% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, Essent Group has a beta of 0.81, suggesting that its stock price is 19% less volatile than the broader market.

East West Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $3.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Essent Group pays an annual dividend of $1.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. East West Bancorp pays out 32.0% 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. East West Bancorp has increased its dividend for 8 consecutive years and Essent Group has increased its dividend for 6 consecutive years. East West Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

East West Bancorp presently has a consensus price target of $132.36, suggesting a potential upside of 9.34%. Essent Group has a consensus price target of $68.00, suggesting a potential upside of 9.54%. Given Essent Group's higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Essent Group is more favorable than East West Bancorp.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
East West Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	11 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.69
Essent Group	0 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.40

Essent Group has a net margin of 53.64% compared to East West Bancorp's net margin of 29.59%. East West Bancorp's return on equity of 16.00% beat Essent Group's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
East West Bancorp	29.59%	16.00%	1.73%
Essent Group	53.64%	12.01%	9.28%

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

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
East West Bancorp	$4.67B	3.55	$1.33B	$10.01	12.09
Essent Group	$1.26B	4.54	$689.97M	$7.02	8.84

Summary

East West Bancorp beats Essent Group on 12 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 compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, media sentiment, profitability, risk and earnings.

NMI has a net margin of 53.82% compared to Essent Group's net margin of 53.64%. NMI's return on equity of 15.18% beat Essent Group's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
NMI	53.82%	15.18%	10.23%
Essent Group	53.64%	12.01%	9.28%

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.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
NMI	$706.44M	4.15	$388.93M	$4.91	7.85
Essent Group	$1.26B	4.54	$689.97M	$7.02	8.84

NMI has a beta of 0.59, suggesting that its stock price is 41% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, Essent Group has a beta of 0.81, suggesting that its stock price is 19% less volatile than the broader market.

NMI presently has a consensus target price of $42.40, indicating a potential upside of 9.96%. Essent Group has a consensus target price of $68.00, indicating a potential upside of 9.54%. Given NMI's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly 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)	1 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.80
Essent Group	0 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.40

In the previous week, Essent Group had 5 more articles in the media than NMI. MarketBeat recorded 8 mentions for Essent Group and 3 mentions for NMI. Essent Group's average media sentiment score of 0.67 beat NMI's score of 0.40 indicating that Essent Group is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
NMI	0 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Essent Group	3 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

94.1% of NMI shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.0% of Essent Group shares are held by institutional investors. 2.4% of NMI 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 stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Essent Group beats NMI on 9 of the 15 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 better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, dividends, media sentiment, valuation and analyst recommendations.

F.N.B. pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Essent Group pays an annual dividend of $1.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. F.N.B. pays out 29.6% 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 increased its dividend for 6 consecutive years.

In the previous week, Essent Group had 3 more articles in the media than F.N.B.. MarketBeat recorded 8 mentions for Essent Group and 5 mentions for F.N.B.. Essent Group's average media sentiment score of 0.67 beat F.N.B.'s score of 0.67 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)	1 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Essent Group	3 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

F.N.B. has a beta of 0.87, meaning that its share price is 13% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, Essent Group has a beta of 0.81, meaning that its share price is 19% less volatile than the broader market.

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 large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

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.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
F.N.B.	$2.69B	2.28	$565M	$1.62	10.65
Essent Group	$1.26B	4.54	$689.97M	$7.02	8.84

Essent Group has a net margin of 53.64% compared to F.N.B.'s net margin of 21.64%. 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.	21.64%	8.94%	1.19%
Essent Group	53.64%	12.01%	9.28%

F.N.B. currently has a consensus price target of $20.20, suggesting a potential upside of 17.03%. Essent Group has a consensus price target of $68.00, suggesting a potential upside of 9.54%. Given F.N.B.'s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly 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)	0 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
Essent Group	0 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.40

Summary

Essent Group beats F.N.B. on 12 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does Essent Group compare to Fidelity National Financial?

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

Fidelity National Financial pays an annual dividend of $2.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.2%. Essent Group pays an annual dividend of $1.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. Fidelity National Financial pays out 75.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Essent Group pays out 19.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Fidelity National Financial has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years and Essent Group has raised its dividend for 6 consecutive years.

Fidelity National Financial presently has a consensus target price of $56.25, indicating a potential upside of 13.65%. Essent Group has a consensus target price of $68.00, indicating a potential upside of 9.54%. Given Fidelity National Financial's higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Fidelity National Financial is more favorable than Essent Group.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Fidelity National Financial	1 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.20
Essent Group	0 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.40

Fidelity National Financial has a beta of 1, suggesting that its share price has a similar volatility profile to the broader market.Comparatively, Essent Group has a beta of 0.81, suggesting that its share price is 19% less volatile than the broader market.

Essent Group has a net margin of 53.64% compared to Fidelity National Financial's net margin of 5.10%. Fidelity National Financial's return on equity of 15.49% beat Essent Group's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Fidelity National Financial	5.10%	15.49%	1.29%
Essent Group	53.64%	12.01%	9.28%

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

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Fidelity National Financial	$14.45B	0.92	$602M	$2.74	18.06
Essent Group	$1.26B	4.54	$689.97M	$7.02	8.84

81.2% of Fidelity National Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.0% of Essent Group shares are held by institutional investors. 5.7% of Fidelity National Financial 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 hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

In the previous week, Fidelity National Financial had 1 more articles in the media than Essent Group. MarketBeat recorded 9 mentions for Fidelity National Financial and 8 mentions for Essent Group. Essent Group's average media sentiment score of 0.67 beat Fidelity National Financial's score of 0.00 indicating that Essent Group is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Fidelity National Financial	1 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Essent Group	3 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Summary

Essent Group beats Fidelity National Financial 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.

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.

ESNT vs. The Competition

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Metric	Essent Group	INS Industry	Finance Sector	NYSE Exchange
Market Cap	$5.57B	$56.92B	$13.37B	$22.75B
Dividend Yield	2.32%	1.92%	5.87%	4.13%
P/E Ratio	8.84	10.60	23.72	29.86
Price / Sales	4.54	1.71	166.77	24.03
Price / Cash	8.23	12.25	19.91	18.80
Price / Book	1.04	2.31	2.18	4.59
Net Income	$689.97M	$4.16B	$1.13B	$1.07B
7 Day Performance	1.89%	1.90%	-0.59%	-0.98%
1 Month Performance	-0.16%	0.73%	-1.15%	-1.30%
1 Year Performance	4.49%	5.40%	9.36%	22.13%

Essent Group Competitors List

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Company	MarketRank	Share Price	Analysts' Price Target	1Y Price Performance	Market Cap	Revenue	P/E Ratio	Employee Count	Indicator(s)
ESNT Essent Group	3.9493 of 5 stars	$62.08 +2.8%	$68.00 +9.5%	+3.7%	$5.57B	$1.26B	8.84	350
ACT Enact	N/A	$42.49 -0.9%	$35.00 -17.6%	+20.1%	$5.93B	$1.24B	9.21	500	Positive News
EWBC East West Bancorp	4.1736 of 5 stars	$119.67 -1.8%	$132.36 +10.6%	+26.8%	$16.40B	$4.67B	11.96	3,350
NMIH NMI	3.0993 of 5 stars	$36.88 -1.6%	$42.40 +15.0%	+0.4%	$2.81B	$706.44M	7.52	234
FNB F.N.B.	4.4954 of 5 stars	$17.44 -0.7%	$20.20 +15.9%	+19.5%	$6.20B	$2.69B	10.74	4,282

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This page (NYSE:ESNT) was last updated on 5/19/2026 by MarketBeat.com Staff.

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Essent Group (ESNT) Competitors