Reviewing Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) & Trupanion (NASDAQ:TRUP)

Trupanion (NASDAQ:TRUP) and Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, risk, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

75.1% of Principal Financial Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.6% of Trupanion shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of Principal Financial Group shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

Trupanion has a beta of 1.45, indicating that its share price is 45% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Principal Financial Group has a beta of 0.86, indicating that its share price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Trupanion and Principal Financial Group”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Trupanion	$1.44 billion	0.72	$19.43 million	$0.53	44.38
Principal Financial Group	$15.63 billion	1.57	$1.19 billion	$7.04	16.30

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Trupanion and Principal Financial Group, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Trupanion	0	5	1	0	2.17
Principal Financial Group	3	7	3	0	2.00

Trupanion currently has a consensus target price of $39.20, indicating a potential upside of 66.67%. Principal Financial Group has a consensus target price of $109.08, indicating a potential downside of 4.94%. Given Trupanion’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Trupanion is more favorable than Principal Financial Group.

Profitability

This table compares Trupanion and Principal Financial Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Trupanion	1.53%	5.96%	2.55%
Principal Financial Group	9.93%	16.49%	0.58%

Summary

Principal Financial Group beats Trupanion on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Trupanion

Trupanion, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides medical insurance for cats and dogs on a monthly subscription basis in the United States, Canada, Continental Europe, and Australia. The company operates in two segments, Subscription Business and Other Business. It serves pet owners and veterinarians. The company was formerly known as Vetinsurance International, Inc. changed its name to Trupanion, Inc. in 2013. Trupanion, Inc. was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.

About Principal Financial Group

Principal Financial Group, Inc. provides retirement, asset management, and insurance products and services to businesses, individuals, and institutional clients worldwide. The company operates through Retirement and Income Solutions, Principal Global Investors, Principal International, and U.S. Insurance Solutions segments. The Retirement and Income Solutions segment provides a portfolio of asset accumulation products and services for retirement savings and income. It offers products and services for defined contribution plans, including 401(k) and 403(b) plans, defined benefit pension plans, nonqualified executive benefit plans, employee stock ownership plans, equity compensation, and pension risk transfer services; individual retirement accounts; investment only products; and mutual funds, individual variable annuities, and bank products. The Principal Global Investors segment provides equity, fixed income, real estate, and other alternative investments, as well as asset allocation, stable value management, and other structured investment strategies. The Principal International segment offers pension accumulation products and services, mutual funds, asset management, income annuities, and life insurance accumulation products, as well as voluntary savings plans in Brazil, Chile, Mexico, China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, India, and Southeast Asia. The U.S. Insurance Solutions segment provides specialty benefits, such as group dental and vision insurance, group life insurance, and group and individual disability insurance, as well as administers group dental, disability, and vision benefits; and individual life insurance products comprising universal, variable universal, indexed universal, and term life insurance products in the United States. It also offers insurance solutions for small and medium-sized businesses and their owners, as well as executives. Principal Financial Group, Inc. was founded in 1879 and is based in Des Moines, Iowa.