The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) versus NI (NASDAQ:NODK) Critical Review

NI (NASDAQ:NODK) and The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for NI and The Hanover Insurance Group, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
NI	1	0	0	0	1.00
The Hanover Insurance Group	0	2	5	0	2.71

The Hanover Insurance Group has a consensus target price of $200.60, suggesting a potential upside of 18.60%. Given The Hanover Insurance Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe The Hanover Insurance Group is more favorable than NI.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

21.9% of NI shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.6% of The Hanover Insurance Group shares are held by institutional investors. 1.2% of NI shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.5% of The Hanover Insurance Group shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

NI has a beta of 0.39, indicating that its stock price is 61% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, The Hanover Insurance Group has a beta of 0.31, indicating that its stock price is 69% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares NI and The Hanover Insurance Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
NI	-3.65%	-4.24%	-1.90%
The Hanover Insurance Group	10.05%	21.00%	4.29%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares NI and The Hanover Insurance Group”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
NI	$285.05 million	0.90	-$10.41 million	($0.49)	-25.47
The Hanover Insurance Group	$6.59 billion	0.90	$662.50 million	$18.17	9.31

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

Summary

The Hanover Insurance Group beats NI on 13 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About NI

NI Holdings, Inc. underwrites property and casualty insurance products in the United States. Its products include private passenger auto, non-standard automobile, homeowners, farm owners, crop hail and multi-peril crop, and liability insurance policies. The company was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in Fargo, North Dakota. NI Holdings, Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Nodak Mutual Group, Inc.

About The Hanover Insurance Group

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides various property and casualty insurance products and services in the United States. The company operates through four segments: Core Commercial, Specialty, Personal Lines, and Other. The Commercial Lines segment offers commercial multiple peril, commercial automobile, workers' compensation, and other commercial lines coverage. The Specialty segment provides professional and executive Lines, marine, and surety and other, as well as specialty property and casualty, such as program business, specialty industrial business, excess and surplus business, and specialty general liability coverage. The Personal Lines segment offers personal automobile and homeowner's coverages, as well as other personal coverages, such as personal umbrella, inland marine, fire, personal watercraft, personal cyber, and other miscellaneous coverages. The Other segment markets investment advisory services to institutions, insurance companies, pension funds, and other organizations. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. markets its products and services through independent agents and brokers. The company was formerly known as Allmerica Financial Corp. and changed its name to The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. in December 2005. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. was founded in 1852 and is headquartered in Worcester, Massachusetts.