ACT vs RDN: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Same yardstick, side by side (as of October 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

Reading it: RDN is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. ACT and RDN share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined ACT and RDN exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

Enact Holdings (Nasdaq: ACT) sells private mortgage insurance. When a borrower puts down less than 20% on a conventional loan sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, the GSEs require credit enhancement, and Enact is one of a handful of companies that provides it. The economics are simple to describe and slow to unwind: Enact writes a policy, collects a recurring premium for as long as the loan stays outstanding, and pays a claim only if the borrower defaults and the foreclosure proceeds fall short. That produces a large, slow-moving book. Primary insurance in force was about $274B as of the second quarter of 2026, up roughly 2% year over year, and new insurance written in the quarter was about $15.2B. Revenue is net premiums earned plus investment income on the reserve portfolio, and because the cost base is thin, the operating margin runs above 70%.

Full ACT guide

Radian Group runs two operating segments after a year of restructuring. The Mortgage segment, written through Radian Guaranty, sells private mortgage insurance to lenders on conventional loans where the borrower puts down less than 20 percent. The insurer collects a monthly or single premium and pays a claim if the loan defaults and the property sells for less than the outstanding balance. Scale is measured in insurance in force rather than in revenue: ~$284 billion of primary insurance in force at June 30, 2026, sitting on ~$75.4 billion of risk in force, produced ~$474.5 million of net premiums earned in the first half. The Specialty segment is Inigo, the Lloyd's of London underwriter Radian bought for ~$1.67 billion on February 2, 2026, which writes property, casualty, marine, energy and other specialty lines through Syndicate 1301 and contributed ~$431.7 million of net premiums earned over the same six months. Three other businesses are on their way out. Real Estate Services was sold to PLACE in August 2026, the title insurance business is under a definitive agreement expected to close in the fourth quarter, and the mortgage conduit has been substantially wound down, all three carried as discontinued operations.

Full RDN guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• ACT drivers: Insurance in force compounding on high persistency; Credit performance and reserve development.
• RDN drivers: The in-force book runs on persistency, not new sales; Half the premium now comes from a Lloyd's syndicate.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: Enact is a concentrated bet on US mortgage credit, with essentially one product, one country and one collateral type. For RDN, the Specialty segment ran a ~93.0 percent combined ratio in the first half of 2026, which leaves thin margin before an underwriting loss, and Lloyd's syndicates carry catastrophe exposure that arrives in lumps rather than in trend lines.

Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick ACT if you believe its drivers more; RDN if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the ACT and RDN guides.

ACT. The multiple is typical of the mortgage insurance group rather than a company-specific discount: the market generally capitalizes these earnings at a low double-digit P/E and around book value because reported profits include reserve releases that are not assumed to repeat through a credit cycle. Price to book near 1.25x with mid-teens ROE implies the market expects returns to normalize lower over time. Because roughly 81% of the shares sit with Genworth, the free float is thin, which affects liquidity and the practical relevance of index-driven flows.

RDN. Insurance holding companies are read on book value and return on equity, so the ~2.9 times sales multiple a screener prints for RDN carries almost no information about what the business is worth. At ~1.02 times book the stock sits at the low end of the ~0.9 to ~1.3 times range US mortgage insurers have generally occupied, while the forward multiple of ~7.3 times already embeds the mid-teens EPS accretion management guided to from Inigo. Whether the discount reflects the delinquency cycle, the ~93 percent specialty combined ratio, or the change of chief executive is the open argument.

Headline figures (approximate, August 2026): ACT shows market cap ~$6.7B, revenue (ttm) ~$1.25B, net income (ttm) ~$683M, p/e (trailing / forward) ~10.3x / ~9.9x; RDN shows revenue (ttm) ~$1.65 billion for the twelve months to June 30, 2026, up ~37.5 percent, against ~$1.197 billion in fiscal 2025, ~$1.206 billion in 2024 and ~$1.177 billion in 2023. The increase is acquired rather than organic: it represents roughly five months of Inigo, consolidated from February 2, 2026. Second-quarter revenue alone was ~$575 million, up ~93 percent year over year, on net premiums earned of ~$504 million (up ~115.7 percent) and net investment income of ~$70 million (up ~21.1 percent). First-half 2026 total revenue was ~$1.041 billion., earnings and eps Net income of ~$536 million for the twelve months to June 30, 2026, down ~8.6 percent, for diluted EPS of ~$3.89 against ~$4.14 in 2025, ~$3.92 in 2024 and ~$3.77 in 2023. First-half 2026 net income was ~$240.0 million, split between ~$247.7 million from continuing operations and a ~$7.7 million loss from discontinued ones. The second quarter produced ~$118 million, or ~$0.87 diluted, from continuing operations, with adjusted diluted net operating income of ~$1.14 per share., segment mix and operating metrics In the first half of 2026 the Mortgage segment earned ~$474.5 million of net premiums at a ~33.0 percent combined ratio, while the Specialty segment earned ~$431.7 million at a ~93.0 percent combined ratio that still carries integration and purchase-accounting effects. Primary mortgage insurance in force reached a record ~$284 billion at June 30, 2026, up ~3 percent, on ~$75.4 billion of risk in force. New insurance written was ~$16.3 billion in the quarter, up ~14 percent. Persistency was ~82 percent, up ~70 basis points, and the primary default rate ~2.47 percent versus ~2.27 percent a year earlier., balance sheet and regulatory capital Total assets of ~$10.66 billion at June 30, 2026, up ~31 percent on the acquisition, with shareholders' equity of ~$4.8 billion and reserves for losses and loss adjustment expense of ~$1.91 billion. Total debt was ~$1.345 billion, up from ~$1.193 billion at year-end 2025, and ~$600 million of the Inigo purchase price came from a 10-year, 6.50 percent intercompany note issued by Radian Guaranty. Book value per share was ~$36.00, up ~8.5 percent year over year. Radian Guaranty held ~$1.5 billion of available assets above its PMIERs minimum..

ACT and RDN are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined ACT and RDN exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.