Head to Head Survey: Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) and International General Insurance (NASDAQ:IGIC)

International General Insurance (NASDAQ:IGIC) and Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, risk and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for International General Insurance and Kemper, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
International General Insurance	0	0	3	0	3.00
Kemper	4	1	2	0	1.71

International General Insurance currently has a consensus price target of $30.00, indicating a potential upside of 18.86%. Kemper has a consensus price target of $56.67, indicating a potential upside of 39.03%. Given Kemper’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Kemper is more favorable than International General Insurance.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

54.2% of International General Insurance shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.2% of Kemper shares are owned by institutional investors. 20.1% of International General Insurance shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.2% of Kemper shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk & Volatility

International General Insurance has a beta of 0.17, meaning that its stock price is 83% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Kemper has a beta of 1.15, meaning that its stock price is 15% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares International General Insurance and Kemper”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
International General Insurance	$539.00 million	2.09	$135.15 million	$2.76	9.14
Kemper	$4.84 billion	0.49	$317.80 million	$3.83	10.64

Kemper has higher revenue and earnings than International General Insurance. International General Insurance is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Kemper, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

International General Insurance pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. Kemper pays an annual dividend of $1.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. International General Insurance pays out 7.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Kemper pays out 33.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. International General Insurance has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years and Kemper has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

Profitability

This table compares International General Insurance and Kemper’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
International General Insurance	23.76%	18.36%	5.82%
Kemper	5.13%	11.48%	2.60%

Summary

International General Insurance beats Kemper on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About International General Insurance

International General Insurance Holdings Ltd. engages in the provision of specialty insurance and reinsurance solutions worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Specialty Long-tail, Specialty Short-tail, and Reinsurance. It is involved in underwriting a portfolio of specialty risks, including energy, property, construction and engineering, ports and terminals, general aviation, political violence, professional lines, financial institutions, motor, marine liability, contingency, marine, treaty, and casualty insurance and reinsurance. The company was founded in 2001 and is based in Amman, Jordan.

About Kemper

Kemper Corporation, a diversified insurance holding company, engages in the provision of insurance products to individuals and businesses in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Specialty Property & Casualty Insurance, Preferred Property & Casualty Insurance, and Life & Health Insurance. It provides preferred and specialty automobile, homeowners, renters, fire, umbrella, general liability, and various other property and casualty insurance to individuals, as well as commercial automobile insurance to businesses. The company also offers life insurance, including permanent and term insurance; and supplemental accident and health insurance products, such as Medicare supplement insurance, fixed hospital indemnity, home health care, specified disease, and accident-only plans to individuals in rural, suburban, and urban areas. It distributes its products through independent agents and brokers. The company was formerly known as Unitrin, Inc. and changed its name to Kemper Corporation in August 2011. Kemper Corporation was incorporated in 1990 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.