Financial Contrast: Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHFAL) vs. The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG)

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) and Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHFAL) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, dividends, risk, valuation, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

86.6% of The Hanover Insurance Group shares are held by institutional investors. 2.8% of The Hanover Insurance Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares The Hanover Insurance Group and Brighthouse Financial”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
The Hanover Insurance Group	$6.59 billion	1.22	$662.50 million	$20.95	11.05
Brighthouse Financial	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

The Hanover Insurance Group has higher revenue and earnings than Brighthouse Financial.

Profitability

This table compares The Hanover Insurance Group and Brighthouse Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
The Hanover Insurance Group	11.17%	21.72%	4.61%
Brighthouse Financial	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for The Hanover Insurance Group and Brighthouse Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
The Hanover Insurance Group	0	5	3	2	2.70
Brighthouse Financial	0	0	0	0	0.00

The Hanover Insurance Group presently has a consensus target price of $225.71, suggesting a potential downside of 2.51%. Given The Hanover Insurance Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe The Hanover Insurance Group is more favorable than Brighthouse Financial.

Summary

The Hanover Insurance Group beats Brighthouse Financial on 10 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About The Hanover Insurance Group

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides various property and casualty insurance products and services in the United States. The company operates through four segments: Core Commercial, Specialty, Personal Lines, and Other. The Commercial Lines segment offers commercial multiple peril, commercial automobile, workers' compensation, and other commercial lines coverage. The Specialty segment provides professional and executive Lines, marine, and surety and other, as well as specialty property and casualty, such as program business, specialty industrial business, excess and surplus business, and specialty general liability coverage. The Personal Lines segment offers personal automobile and homeowner's coverages, as well as other personal coverages, such as personal umbrella, inland marine, fire, personal watercraft, personal cyber, and other miscellaneous coverages. The Other segment markets investment advisory services to institutions, insurance companies, pension funds, and other organizations. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. markets its products and services through independent agents and brokers. The company was formerly known as Allmerica Financial Corp. and changed its name to The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. in December 2005. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. was founded in 1852 and is headquartered in Worcester, Massachusetts.

About Brighthouse Financial

Brighthouse Financial, Inc. operates as a holding company, which engages in the provision of life insurance and annuities through independent distribution channels and marketing arrangements with diverse network of distribution partners. It operates through the following segments: Annuities; Life; Run-Off; and Corporate & Others. The Annuities segment product offerings include fixed, structured, income and variable annuities. The Life segment manufactures products to serve its target segments through a broad independent distribution network. The Run-Off segment includes structured settlements, pension risk transfer contracts, certain company-owned life insurance policies, funding agreements and universal life with secondary guarantees. The Corporate & Other segment refers to the general account investments and the separate account assets of the company. The company was founded June 1863 and is headquartered in Charlotte, NC.