Comparing The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) & Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC)

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) and The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, institutional ownership, risk and profitability.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Stewart Information Services and The Hartford Insurance Group, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Stewart Information Services	0	0	3	0	3.00
The Hartford Insurance Group	0	8	8	2	2.67

Stewart Information Services currently has a consensus price target of $81.00, suggesting a potential upside of 20.05%. The Hartford Insurance Group has a consensus price target of $148.13, suggesting a potential upside of 5.39%. Given Stewart Information Services’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Stewart Information Services is more favorable than The Hartford Insurance Group.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Stewart Information Services and The Hartford Insurance Group”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Stewart Information Services	$2.92 billion	0.65	$115.54 million	$4.04	16.70
The Hartford Insurance Group	$28.37 billion	1.37	$3.84 billion	$13.34	10.54

The Hartford Insurance Group has higher revenue and earnings than Stewart Information Services. The Hartford Insurance Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Stewart Information Services, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Stewart Information Services and The Hartford Insurance Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Stewart Information Services	3.95%	9.32%	4.82%
The Hartford Insurance Group	13.52%	21.92%	4.58%

Volatility and Risk

Stewart Information Services has a beta of 1.01, suggesting that its stock price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, The Hartford Insurance Group has a beta of 0.61, suggesting that its stock price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

96.9% of Stewart Information Services shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.4% of The Hartford Insurance Group shares are held by institutional investors. 2.8% of Stewart Information Services shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.6% of The Hartford Insurance Group shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Stewart Information Services pays an annual dividend of $2.10 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. The Hartford Insurance Group pays an annual dividend of $2.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. Stewart Information Services pays out 52.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. The Hartford Insurance Group pays out 18.0% 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. Stewart Information Services has increased its dividend for 4 consecutive years and The Hartford Insurance Group has increased its dividend for 12 consecutive years.

Summary

The Hartford Insurance Group beats Stewart Information Services on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Stewart Information Services

Stewart Information Services Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides title insurance and real estate transaction related services in the United States and internationally. The company involves in searching, examining, closing, and insuring the condition of the title to real property. It also offers home and personal insurance services; services for tax-deferred exchanges; and digital customer engagement platform services. It also provides appraisal management, online notarization and closing, credit and real estate information, and search and valuation services. The company serves homebuyers and sellers, residential and commercial real estate professionals, mortgage lenders and servicers, title agencies and real estate attorneys, and home builders through direct operations, network of independent agencies, and other businesses. The company was founded in 1893 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

About The Hartford Insurance Group

The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance and financial services to individual and business customers in the United States, the United Kingdom, and internationally. Its Commercial Lines segment offers insurance coverages, including workers' compensation, property, automobile, general and professional liability, package business, umbrella, fidelity and surety, marine, livestock, accident, health, and reinsurance through regional offices, branches, sales and policyholder service centers, independent retail agents and brokers, wholesale agents, and reinsurance brokers. The company's Personal Lines segment provides automobile, homeowners, and personal umbrella coverages through direct-to-consumer channels and independent agents. Its Property & Casualty Other Operations segment offers coverage for asbestos and environmental exposures. The company's Group Benefits segment provides group life, disability, and other group coverages to members of employer groups, associations, and affinity groups through direct insurance policies; reinsurance to other insurance companies; employer paid and voluntary product coverages; disability underwriting, administration, and claims processing to self-funded employer plans; and leave management solution. This segment also distributes its group insurance products and services through brokers, consultants, third-party administrators, trade associations, and private exchanges. Its Hartford Funds segment offers managed mutual funds across various asset classes; and exchange-traded funds through broker-dealer organizations, independent financial advisers, defined contribution plans, financial consultants, bank trust groups, and registered investment advisers, as well as investment management, distribution, and administrative services, such as product design, implementation, and oversight. The company was founded in 1810 and is headquartered in Hartford, Connecticut.