Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT – Get Free Report) and Finance of America Companies (NYSE:FOA – Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, risk, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings and dividends.
Profitability
This table compares Essent Group and Finance of America Companies’ 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% |
| Finance of America Companies | -0.10% | 28.39% | 0.35% |
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of recent recommendations for Essent Group and Finance of America Companies, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Essent Group | 0 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2.38 |
| Finance of America Companies | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2.00 |
Insider and Institutional Ownership
93.0% of Essent Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.2% of Finance of America Companies shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.6% of Essent Group shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 35.4% of Finance of America Companies shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Essent Group and Finance of America Companies”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Essent Group | $1.26 billion | 4.86 | $689.97 million | $7.17 | 9.51 |
| Finance of America Companies | $497.43 million | 0.55 | $45.24 million | ($3.01) | -5.29 |
Essent Group has higher revenue and earnings than Finance of America Companies. Finance of America Companies is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Essent Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Risk & Volatility
Essent Group has a beta of 0.76, meaning that its stock price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Finance of America Companies has a beta of 1.65, meaning that its stock price is 65% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Essent Group beats Finance of America Companies on 9 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 Finance of America Companies
Finance of America Companies Inc. a financial service holding company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of a retirement solutions platform in the United States. It operates through two segments: Retirement Solutions and Portfolio Management. The Retirement Solutions segment engages in the loan origination activities comprising home equity conversion, proprietary reverse, and hybrid mortgage loans for senior homeowners. The Portfolio Management segment provides product development, loan securitization, loan sales, risk management, servicing oversight, and asset management services for borrowers and investors. The company was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in Plano, Texas.
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