Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) and Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) Head to Head Analysis

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

Dividends

Stewart Information Services pays an annual dividend of $2.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. Selective Insurance Group pays an annual dividend of $1.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Stewart Information Services pays out 48.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Selective Insurance Group pays out 21.3% 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 raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years and Selective Insurance Group has raised its dividend for 11 consecutive years.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

96.9% of Stewart Information Services shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 82.9% of Selective Insurance Group shares are held by institutional investors. 2.9% of Stewart Information Services shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.8% of Selective Insurance Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk & Volatility

Stewart Information Services has a beta of 0.97, meaning that its stock price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Selective Insurance Group has a beta of 0.29, meaning that its stock price is 71% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Stewart Information Services and Selective Insurance Group”s gross 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	0.62	$115.54 million	$4.56	13.00
Selective Insurance Group	$5.34 billion	0.96	$466.41 million	$8.06	10.68

Selective Insurance Group has higher revenue and earnings than Stewart Information Services. Selective 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 Selective Insurance Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Stewart Information Services	4.12%	10.02%	5.12%
Selective Insurance Group	9.10%	14.51%	3.22%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Stewart Information Services and Selective Insurance Group, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Stewart Information Services	0	2	4	0	2.67
Selective Insurance Group	1	5	2	0	2.12

Stewart Information Services currently has a consensus price target of $81.50, indicating a potential upside of 37.46%. Selective Insurance Group has a consensus price target of $100.33, indicating a potential upside of 16.50%. Given Stewart Information Services’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Stewart Information Services is more favorable than Selective Insurance Group.

Summary

Stewart Information Services beats Selective Insurance Group on 9 of the 17 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 Selective Insurance Group

Selective Insurance Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance products and services in the United States. The company operates through four segments: Standard Commercial Lines, Standard Personal Lines, E&S Lines, and Investments. It offers casualty insurance products that covers the financial consequences of employee injuries in the course of employment and bodily injury and/or property damage to a third party; property insurance products, which covers the accidental loss of an insured's real property, personal property, and/or earnings due to the property's loss; and flood insurance products. The company also invests in fixed income investments and commercial mortgage loans, as well as equity securities, short-term investments, and alternative investments, and other investments. It offers its insurance products and services to businesses, non-profit organizations, local government agencies, and individuals through independent retail agents and wholesale general agents. The company was founded in 1926 and is headquartered in Branchville, New Jersey.