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

About Equitable Holdings, Inc. and Essent Group Ltd.

Equitable Holdings, Inc., together with its consolidated subsidiaries, operates as a diversified financial services company worldwide. The company operates through six segments: Individual Retirement, Group Retirement, Asset Management, Protection Solutions, Wealth Management, and Legacy. The Individual Retirement variable annuity products, including structured capital strategies, retirement cornerstone, and investment edge primarily to affluent and high net worth individuals. The Group Retirement provides tax-deferred investment and retirement services or products to plans sponsored by educational entities, municipalities, and not-for-profit entities, as well as small and medium-sized businesses. It offers guaranteed and structured investment option, and personal income benefit variable annuity products and open architecture mutual fund platform. The Asset Management segment offers investment management and related services to various clients through institutions, retail, and private wealth management. The Protection Solutions segment provides life insurance products, such as VUL and COLI insurance, IUL insurance, and term life; and employee benefits business which includes group life, supplemental life, dental, vision, short-term disability, long-term disability, critical illness, accident and hospital indemnity insurance products to small and medium-sized businesses. The Wealth Management segment offers discretionary and non-discretionary investment advisory accounts, financial planning and advice, life insurance, and annuity products. The Legacy segment consists of the capital intensive fixed-rate GMxB business that includes ROP death benefits. The company was formerly known as AXA Equitable Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to Equitable Holdings, Inc. in January 2020. Equitable Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1859 and is based in New York, New York.

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 Equitable Holdings, Inc., Essent Group Ltd. Stock News

As of March 27, 2026, Equitable Holdings, Inc. had a $9.9 billion market capitalization, compared to the Financial Services median of $1.9 million. Equitable Holdings, Inc.’s stock is down 24% in 2026, down 4.9% in the previous five trading days and down 34.63% in the past year.

Currently, Equitable Holdings, Inc. does not have a price-earnings ratio. Equitable Holdings, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $11.7 billion with a -11.8% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was -14.2%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $7.461 per share for the current fiscal year. Equitable Holdings, Inc. currently has a 3.1% dividend yield.

As of March 27, 2026, Essent Group Ltd. had a $5.5 billion market cap, putting it in the 70th percentile of all stocks. Essent Group Ltd.’s stock is down 10% in 2026, up 1.4% in the previous five trading days and down 0.53% in the past year.

Currently, Essent Group Ltd.’s price-earnings ratio is 8.4. Essent Group Ltd.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $1.3 billion with a 54.7% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was -0.8%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $7.212 per share for the current fiscal year. Essent Group Ltd. currently has a 2.4% dividend yield.

How We Compare Equitable 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 Equitable Holdings, Inc. and Essent Group Ltd.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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

Company	Ticker	Quality
Equitable Holdings, Inc.	EQH	D
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.

Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a Quality Score of 28, which is Weak. Essent Group Ltd. has a Quality Score of 91, 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 Equitable 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.

Equitable Holdings, Inc. and Essent Group Ltd.’s Momentum Grades

Company	Ticker	Momentum
Equitable Holdings, Inc.	EQH	F
Essent Group Ltd.	ESNT	D

Momentum grades help to 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. Momentum is based on the price change of a stock over a specified period relative to all other stocks.

Typically, AAII looks at the weighted relative strength over the trailing four quarters. The weighted four-quarter relative strength rank is the relative price change for each of the past four quarters. The most recent quarterly price change is given a weight of 40% and each of the three previous quarters are given a weighting of 20%.

Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a Momentum Score of 16, which is Very Weak. Essent Group Ltd. has a Momentum Score of 38, which is Weak.

The Momentum Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Equitable Holdings, Inc. or Essent Group Ltd. has a strong enough Momentum Grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Equitable Holdings, Inc. or Essent Group Ltd. is the better investment when it comes to momentum.

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

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
Equitable Holdings, Inc.	EQH	D
Essent Group Ltd.	ESNT	D

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.

Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 21, which is Negative. Essent Group Ltd. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 23, which is Negative.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Equitable Holdings, Inc. or Essent Group Ltd. has an Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade that could be considered a “winner.” Investors considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Equitable Holdings, Inc. or Essent Group Ltd. is the better investment when it comes to estimate revisions.

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

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

Growth investing builds on the idea that stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth outperform those of slower-growth companies. AAII measures growth through consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations.

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 Equitable 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, Equitable Holdings, Inc. or Essent Group Ltd. Stock?

Overall, Equitable Holdings, Inc. stock has a Momentum Score of 16, Estimate Revisions Score of 21 and Quality Score of 28.

Essent Group Ltd. stock has a Momentum Score of 38, Estimate Revisions Score of 23 and Quality Score of 91.

Comparing Equitable 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.