Contrasting Essent Group (ESNT) & Its Rivals

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) is one of 336 publicly-traded companies in the “Financial Services” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its rivals? We will compare Essent Group to related companies based on the strength of its analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, dividends, earnings, valuation and profitability.

Risk and Volatility

Essent Group has a beta of 0.71, meaning that its stock price is 29% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Essent Group’s rivals have a beta of 2.52, meaning that their average stock price is 152% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Essent Group pays an annual dividend of $1.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Essent Group pays out 19.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Financial Services” companies pay a dividend yield of 4.2% and pay out -72.1% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Essent Group has increased its dividend for 6 consecutive years. Essent Group lags its rivals as a dividend stock, given its lower dividend yield and higher payout ratio.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Essent Group and its rivals, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Essent Group	0	7	2	1	2.40
Essent Group Competitors	1953	6938	11711	447	2.51

Essent Group currently has a consensus price target of $70.62, suggesting a potential upside of 8.76%. As a group, “Financial Services” companies have a potential downside of 5.71%. Given Essent Group’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Essent Group is more favorable than its rivals.

Profitability

This table compares Essent Group and its rivals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Essent Group	49.08%	11.99%	9.02%
Essent Group Competitors	-315.15%	-42.19%	-6.56%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

93.0% of Essent Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 43.0% of shares of all “Financial Services” companies are held by institutional investors. 3.6% of Essent Group shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 21.7% of shares of all “Financial Services” companies are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Essent Group and its rivals revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Essent Group	$1.26 billion	$689.97 million	8.87
Essent Group Competitors	$21.62 billion	$1.11 billion	10.06

Essent Group’s rivals have higher revenue and earnings than Essent Group. Essent Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Summary

Essent Group rivals beat Essent Group on 9 of the 15 factors compared.

Essent Group Company Profile

Essent Group is a Bermuda-based provider of mortgage insurance and reinsurance, operating primarily in the United States. Its services help mortgage lenders manage the credit risk associated with residential home loans. Through its U.S. mortgage insurance subsidiary, Essent Guaranty, the company provides private mortgage insurance for eligible borrowers who make smaller down payments on conventional mortgages. The coverage can help lenders reduce potential losses if a borrower defaults. Essent also provides mortgage reinsurance through its reinsurance operations.