Contrasting Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) & Global Indemnity Group (NASDAQ:GBLI)

Global Indemnity Group (NASDAQ:GBLI) and Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, valuation, risk, institutional ownership, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Global Indemnity Group and Travelers Companies, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Global Indemnity Group	0	1	0	0	2.00
Travelers Companies	4	15	5	2	2.19

Travelers Companies has a consensus target price of $370.83, indicating a potential downside of 7.50%. Given Travelers Companies’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Travelers Companies is more favorable than Global Indemnity Group.

Dividends

Global Indemnity Group pays an annual dividend of $1.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.4%. Travelers Companies pays an annual dividend of $5.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Global Indemnity Group pays out 66.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Travelers Companies pays out 13.1% 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. Global Indemnity Group has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years and Travelers Companies has raised its dividend for 21 consecutive years.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

37.4% of Global Indemnity Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 82.4% of Travelers Companies shares are held by institutional investors. 47.1% of Global Indemnity Group shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of Travelers Companies shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Risk and Volatility

Global Indemnity Group has a beta of 0.52, indicating that its stock price is 48% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Travelers Companies has a beta of 0.4, indicating that its stock price is 60% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Global Indemnity Group and Travelers Companies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Global Indemnity Group	6.74%	4.69%	1.94%
Travelers Companies	17.03%	26.19%	5.82%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Global Indemnity Group and Travelers Companies”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Global Indemnity Group	$450.10 million	0.71	$25.33 million	$2.10	10.45
Travelers Companies	$48.92 billion	1.68	$6.29 billion	$38.14	10.51

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

Summary

Travelers Companies beats Global Indemnity Group on 15 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Global Indemnity Group

Global Indemnity Group, LLC (NASDAQ: GBLI) is an insurance holding company that provides specialty property and casualty insurance and reinsurance products. Its business is focused on risks that may require specialized underwriting expertise, including commercial, professional and personal insurance exposures. Through its operating subsidiaries, the company offers products in areas such as excess and surplus lines, commercial property and casualty coverage, specialty personal lines, and other niche insurance markets.

About Travelers Companies

The Travelers Companies, Inc. is a property and casualty insurance provider serving individuals, businesses and organizations. Its products include personal auto and homeowners insurance, as well as commercial coverage such as property, general liability, workers’ compensation and commercial auto insurance. The company also provides surety bonds and specialty insurance, including coverage for businesses and professional services. Travelers distributes many of its products through independent agents and brokers.