Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) versus NI (NASDAQ:NODK) Critical Comparison

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for NI and Essent Group, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
NI	0	1	0	0	2.00
Essent Group	1	4	4	0	2.33

Essent Group has a consensus target price of $66.67, indicating a potential upside of 0.75%. Given Essent Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Essent Group is more favorable than NI.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

21.9% of NI shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.0% of Essent Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.2% of NI shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.9% of Essent Group shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
NI	0.87%	1.05%	0.47%
Essent Group	55.63%	12.40%	9.73%

Volatility & Risk

NI has a beta of 0.37, indicating that its share price is 63% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Essent Group has a beta of 0.9, indicating that its share price is 10% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares NI and Essent Group”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
NI	$325.20 million	0.92	-$6.06 million	$0.13	111.23
Essent Group	$1.24 billion	5.15	$729.40 million	$6.87	9.63

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

Summary

Essent Group beats NI on 13 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About NI

NI Holdings, Inc. underwrites property and casualty insurance products in the United States. Its products include private passenger auto, non-standard automobile, homeowners, farm owners, crop hail and multi-peril crop, and liability insurance policies. The company was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in Fargo, North Dakota. NI Holdings, Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Nodak Mutual Group, Inc.

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.