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 Essent Group Ltd. or CNA Financial Corporation 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 Essent Group Ltd. and CNA Financial Corporation compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Essent Group Ltd. and CNA Financial Corporation

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.

CNA Financial Corporation, an insurance holding company, primarily provides commercial property and casualty insurance products in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Continental Europe, and internationally. It operates through Specialty, Commercial, International, and Life & Group segments. The company offers professional liability coverage and risk management services to various professional firms, including architects, real estate agents, and accounting and law firms; directors and officers, errors and omissions, employment practices, fiduciary, and fidelity and cyber coverage to small and mid-size firms, public and privately held firms, and not-for-profit organizations; professional and general liability, as well as associated casualty coverages for healthcare industry; surety and fidelity bonds; and warranty and alternative risks products. It also provides property, marine, boiler, and machinery coverage insurance products; casualty insurance products comprising workers' compensation, general and product liability, commercial auto, umbrella, and excess and surplus coverages; specialized loss-sensitive insurance programs and total risk management services; and a run-off long-term care business. The company was founded in 1853 and is based in Chicago, Illinois. CNA Financial Corporation is a subsidiary of Loews Corporation.

Latest Financial Services and Essent Group Ltd., CNA Financial Corporation Stock News

As of August 21, 2026, Essent Group Ltd. had a $6.1 billion market capitalization, compared to the Financial Services median of $2.3 million. Essent Group Ltd.’s stock is up 4.7% in 2026, down 2.2% in the previous five trading days and up 9.17% in the past year.

Currently, Essent Group Ltd.’s price-earnings ratio is 9.5. 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 2.1% dividend yield.

As of August 21, 2026, CNA Financial Corporation had a $13.3 billion market cap, putting it in the 81st percentile of all stocks. CNA Financial Corporation’s stock is up 2.6% in 2026, down 4% in the previous five trading days and up 0.12% in the past year.

Currently, CNA Financial Corporation’s price-earnings ratio is 10.8. CNA Financial Corporation’s trailing 12-month revenue is $15.2 billion with a 8.2% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 3.0%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $4.300 per share for the current fiscal year. CNA Financial Corporation currently has a 8.0% dividend yield.

How We Compare Essent Group Ltd. and CNA Financial Corporation 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 Essent Group Ltd. and CNA Financial Corporation’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Essent Group Ltd. and CNA Financial Corporation Stock Value Grades

Company	Ticker	Value
Essent Group Ltd.	ESNT	A
CNA Financial Corporation	CNA	A

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.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.

Essent Group Ltd. has a Value Score of 86, which is Deep Value. CNA Financial Corporation has a Value Score of 94, which is Deep Value.

The Value Stock Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Value Grade breakdown above, both Essent Group Ltd. and CNA Financial Corporation have a Value Grade of A. For investors who focus solely on a company’s valuation, you will need to conduct further research into both of these companies’ other metrics to see if they could be good additions to your portfolio. It’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Essent Group Ltd. and CNA Financial Corporation’s Momentum Grades

Company	Ticker	Momentum
Essent Group Ltd.	ESNT	C
CNA Financial Corporation	CNA	C

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%.

Essent Group Ltd. has a Momentum Score of 51, which is Average. CNA Financial Corporation has a Momentum Score of 44, which is Average.

The Momentum Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Essent Group Ltd. or CNA Financial Corporation 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 Essent Group Ltd. or CNA Financial Corporation is the better investment when it comes to momentum.

Essent Group Ltd. and CNA Financial Corporation’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
Essent Group Ltd.	ESNT	B
CNA Financial Corporation	CNA	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.

Essent Group Ltd. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 69, which is Positive. CNA Financial Corporation has a Earnings Estimate Score of 71, which is Positive.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade breakdown above, both Essent Group Ltd. and CNA Financial Corporation have a grade of B. For those focusing solely on a company’s estimate revisions, other financial metrics will need to be evaluated to determine whether Essent Group Ltd. or CNA Financial Corporation is a better fit.

Other Essent Group Ltd. and CNA Financial Corporation Grades

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

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.

AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the ranking of key metrics. Specifically, the quality grade is the percentile rank of the composite 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 F-Score.

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 Essent Group Ltd. and CNA Financial Corporation pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Essent Group Ltd. or CNA Financial Corporation Stock?

Overall, Essent Group Ltd. stock has a Value Score of 86, Momentum Score of 51 and Estimate Revisions Score of 69.

CNA Financial Corporation stock has a Value Score of 94, Momentum Score of 44 and Estimate Revisions Score of 71.

Comparing Essent Group Ltd. and CNA Financial Corporation’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.