Aegon (NYSE:AEG) & Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Critical Review

Aegon (NYSE:AEG) and Progressive (NYSE:PGR) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings, risk and dividends.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

4.3% of Aegon shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 85.3% of Progressive shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Progressive shares are owned 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.

Profitability

This table compares Aegon and Progressive’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Aegon	N/A	N/A	N/A
Progressive	12.84%	32.92%	8.85%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Aegon and Progressive”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Aegon	$10.29 billion	1.61	$1.11 billion	N/A	N/A
Progressive	$91.02 billion	1.40	$11.31 billion	$19.94	10.97

Progressive has higher revenue and earnings than Aegon.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Aegon and Progressive, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Aegon	0	4	2	1	2.57
Progressive	2	12	8	0	2.27

Aegon currently has a consensus price target of $10.00, indicating a potential upside of 20.85%. Progressive has a consensus price target of $235.11, indicating a potential upside of 7.44%. Given Aegon’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Aegon is more favorable than Progressive.

Risk and Volatility

Aegon has a beta of 0.85, indicating that its share price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Progressive has a beta of 0.25, indicating that its share price is 75% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Aegon pays an annual dividend of $0.41 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.0%. Progressive pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive pays out 2.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Summary

Progressive beats Aegon on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Aegon

Aegon Ltd. provides insurance, pensions, retirement, and asset management services in the United States, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company offers life, accident, property and casualty, and health insurance; annuities, retirement plans, mutual funds, and stable value solutions; residential mortgage and digital baking services; and retail and institutional investment management solutions and retirement savings vehicles and strategies. It offers its products under the Aegon and Transamerica brands. Aegon Ltd. was founded in 1844 and is headquartered in The Hague, the Netherlands.

About Progressive

The Progressive Corporation, an insurance holding company, provides personal and commercial auto, personal residential and commercial property, business related general liability, and other specialty property-casualty insurance products and related services in the United States. It operates in three segments: Personal Lines, Commercial Lines, and Property. The Personal Lines segment writes insurance for personal autos and recreational vehicles (RV). This segment's products include personal auto insurance; and special lines products, including insurance for motorcycles, ATVs, RVs, watercrafts, snowmobiles, and related products. The Commercial Lines segment provides auto-related liability and physical damage insurance, and business-related general liability and property insurance for autos, vans, and pick-up trucks used by small businesses, as well as non-fleet taxis, black-car services, and airport taxis; tractors, trailers, and straight trucks primarily used by regional general freight and expeditor-type businesses, and long-haul operators; dump trucks used by light contractors and heavy constructions; log trucks and garbage trucks used by dirt, sand and gravel, logging, garbage/debris removal, and coal-type businesses; and tow trucks and wreckers used in towing services and gas/service station businesses. The Property segment writes residential property insurance for homeowners, other property owners, and renters, as well as offers manufactured homes, personal umbrella insurance, and primary and excess flood insurance. The company offers policy issuance and claims adjusting services; acts as an agent to homeowners, general liability, workers' compensation insurance, and other products; and reinsurance services. It sells its products through independent insurance agencies, as well as through mobile applications and over the phone. The Progressive Corporation was founded in 1937 and is headquartered in Mayfield Village, Ohio.