Contrasting Allianz (OTCMKTS:ALIZY) and AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF)

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) and Allianz (OTCMKTS:ALIZY) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk and earnings.

Dividends

AMERISAFE pays an annual dividend of $1.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.7%. Allianz pays an annual dividend of $1.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. AMERISAFE pays out 66.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Allianz pays out 39.4% 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. AMERISAFE has increased its dividend for 12 consecutive years. AMERISAFE is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

97.4% of AMERISAFE shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.0% of Allianz shares are held by institutional investors. 1.9% of AMERISAFE shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares AMERISAFE and Allianz’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
AMERISAFE	14.00%	14.87%	3.35%
Allianz	6.31%	18.33%	1.16%

Risk and Volatility

AMERISAFE has a beta of 0.23, suggesting that its share price is 77% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Allianz has a beta of 0.65, suggesting that its share price is 35% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for AMERISAFE and Allianz, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
AMERISAFE	2	1	2	0	2.00
Allianz	0	2	2	1	2.80

AMERISAFE presently has a consensus price target of $44.00, suggesting a potential upside of 78.43%. Given AMERISAFE’s higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe AMERISAFE is more favorable than Allianz.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares AMERISAFE and Allianz”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
AMERISAFE	$317.25 million	1.44	$47.15 million	$2.48	9.94
Allianz	$211.45 billion	0.92	$12.19 billion	$3.55	14.34

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

Summary

Allianz beats AMERISAFE on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About AMERISAFE

AMERISAFE, Inc., an insurance holding company, underwrites workers’ compensation insurance in the United States. The company provides benefits to injured employees for temporary or permanent disability, death, and medical and hospital expenses. It sells its products through retail and wholesale brokers and agents; and small and mid-sized employers engaged in hazardous industries, including construction, trucking, logging and lumber, agriculture, manufacturing, telecommunications, and maritime. AMERISAFE, Inc. was incorporated in 1985 and is based in DeRidder, Louisiana.

About Allianz

Allianz SE, together with its subsidiaries, provides property-casualty insurance, life/health insurance, and asset management products and services worldwide. The company’s Property-Casualty segment offers various insurance products, including motor liability and own damage, accident, general liability, fire and property, legal expense, credit, and travel to private and corporate customers. Its Life/Health segment provides a range of life and health insurance products on an individual and a group basis, such as annuities, endowment and term insurance, and unit-linked and investment-oriented products, as well as private and supplemental health, and long-term care insurance products. The company’s Asset Management segment offers institutional and retail asset management products and services to third-party investors comprising equity and fixed income funds, and multi-assets; and alternative investment products that include real estate, infrastructure debt/equity, real assets, liquid alternatives, and solutions. Its Corporate and Other segment provides banking services for retail clients, as well as digital investment services. Allianz SE was founded in 1890 and is headquartered in Munich, Germany.