Sifting through countless of stocks in the Financial Services industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Enact Holdings, Inc. or Essent Group Ltd. because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Enact Holdings, Inc. and Essent Group Ltd. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Enact Holdings, Inc. and Essent Group Ltd.

Enact Holdings, Inc. operates as a private mortgage insurance company in the United States. The company engages in writing and assuming residential mortgage guaranty insurance. It also offers private mortgage insurance products insuring prime-based, individually underwritten residential mortgage loans; pool mortgage insurance; contract underwriting services; and mortgage-related reinsurance products. The company serves large money center banks, non-bank lenders, national and local mortgage bankers, community banks, and credit unions. The company was formerly known as Genworth Mortgage Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to Enact Holdings, Inc. in May 2021. Enact Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1981 and is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina. Enact Holdings, Inc. is a subsidiary of Genworth Holdings Inc.

Essent Group Ltd., through its subsidiaries, provides private mortgage insurance and reinsurance, and title insurance and settlement services to mortgage lenders, borrowers, and investors in the United States. It operates through two segments, Mortgage Insurance and Reinsurance. The company’s mortgage insurance products include primary, pool, and master policy. It also provides information technology maintenance and development services; customer support-related services; underwriting consulting services to third-party reinsurers; and contract underwriting services, as well as credit risk management products. In addition, the company offers title insurance and settlement services; and title insurance underwriting 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 founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda.

Latest Financial Services and Enact Holdings, Inc., Essent Group Ltd. Stock News

As of September 2, 2026, Enact Holdings, Inc. had a $6.7 billion market capitalization, compared to the Financial Services median of $2.3 million. Enact Holdings, Inc.’s stock is up 24.9% in 2026, up 1% in the previous five trading days and up 30.02% in the past year.

Currently, Enact Holdings, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 10.3. Enact Holdings, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $1.3 billion with a 54.5% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 4.1%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $4.843 per share for the current fiscal year. Enact Holdings, Inc. currently has a 2.0% dividend yield.

As of September 2, 2026, Essent Group Ltd. had a $6.2 billion market cap, putting it in the 70th percentile of all stocks. Essent Group Ltd.’s stock is up 7.1% in 2026, up 0.5% in the previous five trading days and up 10.12% in the past year.

Currently, Essent Group Ltd.’s price-earnings ratio is 9.7. Essent Group Ltd.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $1.3 billion with a 51.5% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 13.7%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $7.559 per share for the current fiscal year. Essent Group Ltd. currently has a 2.0% dividend yield.

How We Compare Enact Holdings, Inc. and Essent Group Ltd. Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Enact Holdings, Inc. and Essent Group Ltd.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Enact Holdings, Inc. and Essent Group Ltd. Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
Enact Holdings, Inc.	ACT	B
Essent Group Ltd.	ESNT	B

The foundation of growth investing is seeking out stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth that is expected to continue into the future.

In order to compute the growth score and assign it a letter grade, the percentile ranks for each of three components‐consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations‐must be determined. These three rank figures are added together, and the sum is ranked against the entire stock universe to arrive at a company’s Growth Score to create an equal distribution of grades.

The companies in the bottom 20% of the stock universe receive Growth Grades of F, considered to be very weak, while those in the top 20% receive A grades, which are considered very strong.

Enact Holdings, Inc. has a Growth Score of 73, which is Strong. Essent Group Ltd. has a Growth Score of 73, which is Strong.

The Growth Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Growth Grade breakdown above, both Enact Holdings, Inc. and Essent Group Ltd. have a grade of B. For investors who focus solely on a company’s upward growth, further research should be conducted into both companies’ other financial metrics before deciding whether to invest.

Enact Holdings, Inc. and Essent Group Ltd.’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
Enact Holdings, Inc.	ACT	B
Essent Group Ltd.	ESNT	A

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

Enact Holdings, Inc. has a Quality Score of 79, which is Strong. Essent Group Ltd. has a Quality Score of 83, which is Very Strong.

The Quality Grade Winner: Essent Group Ltd.

As you can clearly see from the Quality Grade breakdown above, Essent Group Ltd. has a better overall quality grade than Enact Holdings, Inc.. For investors who are looking for companies with higher quality than others in the same industry, Essent Group Ltd. could be a good stock to add to their portfolios. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Enact Holdings, Inc. and Essent Group Ltd.’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
Enact Holdings, Inc.	ACT	C
Essent Group Ltd.	ESNT	B

Earnings estimate revisions scores consider the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, positive surprises beget further positive surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

Enact Holdings, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 58, which is Neutral. Essent Group Ltd. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 71, which is Positive.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade Winner: Essent Group Ltd.

As you can clearly see from the Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade breakdown above, Essent Group Ltd. has a better Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade than Enact Holdings, Inc.. For those who are specifically looking for companies with better short-term prospects when compared to other companies in the same industry, Essent Group Ltd. could be a good stock to invest in. However, it’s important to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Other Enact Holdings, Inc. and Essent Group Ltd. Grades

In addition to Growth, Estimate Revisions and Quality, A+ Investor also provides grades for Value and Momentum.

Momentum grades help uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming.

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection. Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Enact Holdings, Inc. and Essent Group Ltd. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Enact Holdings, Inc. or Essent Group Ltd. Stock?

Overall, Enact Holdings, Inc. stock has a Growth Score of 73, Estimate Revisions Score of 58 and Quality Score of 79.

Essent Group Ltd. stock has a Growth Score of 73, Estimate Revisions Score of 71 and Quality Score of 83.

Comparing Enact Holdings, Inc. and Essent Group Ltd.’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.