Analyzing Greenlight Capital Re (NASDAQ:GLRE) and Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT)

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

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Greenlight Capital Re and Essent Group”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Greenlight Capital Re	$729.78 million	0.68	$74.83 million	$2.37	6.35
Essent Group	$1.26 billion	4.18	$689.97 million	$7.02	8.15

Essent Group has higher revenue and earnings than Greenlight Capital Re. Greenlight Capital Re 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

Greenlight Capital Re has a beta of 0.33, indicating that its share price is 67% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Essent Group has a beta of 0.78, indicating that its share price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Greenlight Capital Re	11.47%	11.69%	3.70%
Essent Group	53.64%	12.01%	9.28%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

41.5% of Greenlight Capital Re shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.0% of Essent Group shares are held by institutional investors. 24.7% of Greenlight Capital Re shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.6% of Essent Group shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Greenlight Capital Re and Essent Group, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Greenlight Capital Re	0	1	1	0	2.50
Essent Group	0	7	3	0	2.30

Essent Group has a consensus price target of $67.86, indicating a potential upside of 18.63%. Given Essent Group’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Essent Group is more favorable than Greenlight Capital Re.

Summary

Essent Group beats Greenlight Capital Re on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Greenlight Capital Re

Greenlight Capital Re, Ltd., through its subsidiaries, operates as a property and casualty reinsurance company worldwide. The company offers various property reinsurance products and services, including automobile physical damage, personal lines, and commercial lines. It also provides casualty reinsurance products and services comprising general liability, motor liability, professional liability, and worker's compensation; and accident and health, transactional liability, mortgage insurance, surety, trade credit, marine, and energy, as well as other specialty products, such as aviation, crop, cyber, political, and terrorism products. The company markets its products through reinsurance brokers. Greenlight Capital Re, Ltd. was incorporated in 2004 and is headquartered in Grand Cayman, the Cayman Islands.

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.