Contrasting Waterdrop (WDH) & Its Competitors

Waterdrop (NYSE:WDH) is one of 311 publicly-traded companies in the “Insurance” industry, but how does it compare to its peers? We will compare Waterdrop to related businesses based on the strength of its dividends, valuation, risk, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings and profitability.

Risk & Volatility

Waterdrop has a beta of -0.17, meaning that its stock price is 117% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Waterdrop’s peers have a beta of -1.59, meaning that their average stock price is 259% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Waterdrop and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Waterdrop	10.69%	10.47%	7.40%
Waterdrop Competitors	8.67%	-9.88%	4.11%

Dividends

Waterdrop pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. Waterdrop pays out 19.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Insurance” companies pay a dividend yield of 2.9% and pay out 31.2% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Waterdrop is clearly a better dividend stock than its peers, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Waterdrop and its peers, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Waterdrop	0	1	0	0	2.00
Waterdrop Competitors	3344	15710	16557	746	2.40

As a group, “Insurance” companies have a potential upside of 4.69%. Given Waterdrop’s peers stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Waterdrop has less favorable growth aspects than its peers.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

2.0% of Waterdrop shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 55.9% of shares of all “Insurance” companies are owned by institutional investors. 24.6% of Waterdrop shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 13.4% of shares of all “Insurance” companies are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Waterdrop and its peers gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Waterdrop	$5.08 billion	$81.36 million	4.79
Waterdrop Competitors	$15.51 billion	$1.70 billion	33.70

Waterdrop’s peers have higher revenue and earnings than Waterdrop. Waterdrop is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Summary

Waterdrop peers beat Waterdrop on 8 of the 15 factors compared.

Waterdrop Company Profile

Waterdrop Inc. is a China-focused technology platform that connects consumers with insurance products and medical fundraising services. Its insurance business distributes policies from third-party insurers through online channels, including coverage for health, life and accidents. The company also operates Waterdrop Medical Crowdfunding, a platform through which people can seek donations to help cover medical expenses. Waterdrop was founded in 2016 by Shen Peng, who has served as the company’s chairman and chief executive officer.