Analyzing Corpay (NYSE:CPAY) and Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT)

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

93.0% of Essent Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.8% of Corpay shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.6% of Essent Group shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.2% of Corpay shares are owned 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.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Essent Group and Corpay, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Essent Group	0	6	3	0	2.33
Corpay	0	3	12	0	2.80

Essent Group currently has a consensus target price of $71.86, suggesting a potential upside of 13.70%. Corpay has a consensus target price of $438.93, suggesting a potential upside of 12.01%. Given Essent Group’s higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Essent Group is more favorable than Corpay.

Profitability

This table compares Essent Group and Corpay’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Essent Group	51.45%	11.91%	9.09%
Corpay	22.72%	42.18%	6.34%

Risk and Volatility

Essent Group has a beta of 0.76, suggesting that its share price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Corpay has a beta of 0.87, suggesting that its share price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Essent Group and Corpay”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Essent Group	$1.26 billion	4.50	$689.97 million	$7.17	8.81
Corpay	$4.53 billion	5.68	$1.07 billion	$16.43	23.85

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

Summary

Corpay beats Essent Group on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Essent Group

Essent Group Ltd., through its subsidiaries, provides private mortgage insurance and reinsurance for mortgages secured by residential properties located in the United States. Its mortgage insurance products include primary, pool, and master policy. The company also provides information technology maintenance and development services; customer support-related services; underwriting consulting; and contract underwriting services, as well as risk management products and title insurance and settlement services. It serves the originators of residential mortgage loans, such as regulated depository institutions, mortgage banks, credit unions, and other lenders. Essent Group Ltd. was incorporated in 2008 and is based in Hamilton, Bermuda.

About Corpay

Volatus is a leader in innovative global aerial solutions for intelligence and cargo. With over 100 years of combined institutional knowledge in aviation, Volatus provides comprehensive solutions using both piloted and remotely piloted aircraft systems for a wide array of industries, including oil and gas, energy utilities, healthcare, public safety, and infrastructure. The Company is committed to enhancing operational efficiency, safety, and sustainability through cutting-edge aerial technologies.