AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS – Get Free Report) and United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS – Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability and risk.
Profitability
This table compares AXIS Capital and United Fire Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| AXIS Capital | 10.82% | 19.24% | 3.08% |
| United Fire Group | 4.15% | 6.75% | 1.51% |
Dividends
AXIS Capital pays an annual dividend of $1.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. United Fire Group pays an annual dividend of $0.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. AXIS Capital pays out 24.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. United Fire Group pays out 33.0% 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. AXIS Capital has increased its dividend for 23 consecutive years.
Volatility and Risk
Institutional & Insider Ownership
93.4% of AXIS Capital shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 62.7% of United Fire Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.5% of AXIS Capital shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 6.0% of United Fire Group shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for AXIS Capital and United Fire Group, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| AXIS Capital | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2.71 |
| United Fire Group | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
AXIS Capital currently has a consensus target price of $97.14, indicating a potential upside of 4.44%. United Fire Group has a consensus target price of $26.00, indicating a potential downside of 15.83%. Given AXIS Capital’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe AXIS Capital is more favorable than United Fire Group.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares AXIS Capital and United Fire Group”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| AXIS Capital | $5.64 billion | 1.38 | $376.29 million | $7.21 | 12.90 |
| United Fire Group | $1.10 billion | 0.71 | -$29.70 million | $1.94 | 15.92 |
AXIS Capital has higher revenue and earnings than United Fire Group. AXIS Capital is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than United Fire Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
AXIS Capital beats United Fire Group on 14 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.
About AXIS Capital
AXIS Capital Holdings Limited, through its subsidiaries, provides various specialty insurance and reinsurance products in Bermuda, the United States, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Insurance and Reinsurance. The Insurance segment offers professional insurance products that cover directors' and officers' liability, errors and omissions, employment practices, fiduciary, crime, professional indemnity, medical malpractice, and other financial insurance related coverages for commercial enterprises, financial institutions, not-for-profit organizations, and other professional service providers; and property insurance products for commercial buildings, residential premises, construction projects, property in transit, onshore renewable energy installations, and physical damage and business interruption following an act of terrorism. This segment also provides marine and aviation insurance services for offshore energy, renewable offshore energy, cargo, liability, including kidnap and ransom, fine art, specie, and hull war, hull and liability, and specific war coverage for passenger airlines, cargo operations, general aviation operations, airports, aviation authorities, security firms, and product manufacturers; personal accident, travel insurance, specialty health products for employer and affinity groups, and pet insurance products; and liability, cyber, and credit and political risk insurance services. The Reinsurance segment offers agriculture, marine and aviation, catastrophe, accidental and health, credit and surety, motor, professional, travel, life, engineering, property, and liability reinsurance products. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Pembroke, Bermuda.
About United Fire Group
United Fire Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides property and casualty insurance for individuals and businesses in the United States. The company offers commercial and personal lines of property and casualty insurance; and reinsurance coverage for property and casualty insurance. Its commercial lines include fire and allied lines, other liability, automobile, workers’ compensation, fidelity and surety coverage, and other insurance products; and personal lines comprise automobile, and fire and allied lines coverage, including homeowners, as well as provides assumed reinsurance products. The company sells its products through a network of independent agencies. United Fire Group, Inc. was incorporated in 1946 and is headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
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