Comparing James River Group (NASDAQ:JRVR) and World Access (OTCMKTS:WAXS)

James River Group (NASDAQ:JRVR) and World Access (OTCMKTS:WAXS) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends and profitability.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for James River Group and World Access, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
James River Group	1	4	1	1	2.29
World Access	0	0	0	0	0.00

James River Group presently has a consensus price target of $6.40, indicating a potential upside of 0.63%. Given James River Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe James River Group is more favorable than World Access.

Profitability

This table compares James River Group and World Access’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
James River Group	-7.64%	7.11%	0.69%
World Access	N/A	N/A	N/A

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares James River Group and World Access”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
James River Group	$707.63 million	0.41	-$81.12 million	($2.08)	-3.06
World Access	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

World Access has lower revenue, but higher earnings than James River Group.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

95.2% of James River Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 33.8% of James River Group shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 16.4% of World Access shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

James River Group beats World Access on 9 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About James River Group

James River Group Holdings, Ltd., through its subsidiaries, provides specialty insurance services. It operates through Excess and Surplus Lines, and Specialty Admitted Insurance segments. The Excess and Surplus Lines segment underwrites liability and property insurance in the United States Puerto Rice, and the United States Virgin Islands. This segment distributes its insurance policies primarily through wholesale insurance brokers. The Specialty Admitted Insurance segment provides insurance for fronting, program administrators, managing general agents, and independent retail agents. James River Group Holdings, Ltd. was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in Pembroke, Bermuda.

About World Access

World Access, Inc. operates as a global services company providing solutions in customer care to organizations in the travel, financial, health care, and call center industries. It consists of three full service companies and three specialized services companies. World Access Service Corporation serves companies located in the US and companies that have travelers or employees visiting North America. World Access Canada serves companies located in Canada; and World Access Asia serves companies located in eastern Asia, including Japan. World Access Europe provides members of World Access with logistical and medical support throughout the region. Other companies include World Access Provider Network Services; and World Access Transport Services that manages and coordinates all medical evacuation and repatriation activities for World Access. The company is based in Atlanta, Georgia. In April 2001, the company filed voluntary petitions for Chapter 11 relief in the United States Bankruptcy Court on behalf of itself and certain of its U.S. subsidiaries.