Analyzing James River Group (NASDAQ:JRVR) & Zurich Insurance Group (OTCMKTS:ZURVY)

Zurich Insurance Group (OTCMKTS:ZURVY) and James River Group (NASDAQ:JRVR) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, valuation, earnings, institutional ownership and dividends.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

0.0% of Zurich Insurance Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 95.2% of James River Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.0% of Zurich Insurance Group shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 33.8% of James River Group shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

Zurich Insurance Group has a beta of 0.54, suggesting that its stock price is 46% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, James River Group has a beta of -0.03, suggesting that its stock price is 103% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Zurich Insurance Group and James River Group, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Zurich Insurance Group	1	3	0	0	1.75
James River Group	2	5	0	0	1.71

James River Group has a consensus price target of $6.44, suggesting a potential upside of 60.94%. Given James River Group’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe James River Group is more favorable than Zurich Insurance Group.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Zurich Insurance Group and James River Group”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Zurich Insurance Group	$62.95 billion	1.76	$6.80 billion	N/A	N/A
James River Group	$687.61 million	0.27	$47.43 million	$0.34	11.76

Zurich Insurance Group has higher revenue and earnings than James River Group.

Profitability

This table compares Zurich Insurance Group and James River Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Zurich Insurance Group	N/A	N/A	N/A
James River Group	4.34%	10.79%	1.13%

Dividends

Zurich Insurance Group pays an annual dividend of $1.22 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. James River Group pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. James River Group pays out 11.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Summary

Zurich Insurance Group beats James River Group on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Zurich Insurance Group

Zurich Insurance Group AG, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance products and related services in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, North America, Latin America, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates through Property & Casualty Regions, Life Regions, Farmers, Group Functions and Operations, and Non-Core Businesses segments. It offers car and motor, home, travel, general liability, life and critical illness, and other insurance products; and saving and investment, and pension and retirement planning products. The company also provides property, casualty, energy and engineering lines, and marine; commercial management liability, financial institutions, and professional indemnity; and cyber, accident and health, and credit lines and surety insurance products, as well as and non-claims and ancillary services to the farmers exchanges. In addition, it offers employee benefit insurance products; and climate resilience, risk engineering, captive, and cyber resilience, as well as climate risk assessment and reinsurance services. The company serves individuals, small businesses, and mid-sized and large companies, as well as multinational corporations. It sells its products through agents, brokers, and bank distribution channels. Zurich Insurance Group AG was founded in 1872 and is based in Zurich, Switzerland.

About James River Group

James River Group Holdings, Ltd., through its subsidiaries, provides specialty insurance services. It operates through Excess and Surplus Lines, and Specialty Admitted Insurance segments. The Excess and Surplus Lines segment underwrites liability and property insurance in the United States Puerto Rice, and the United States Virgin Islands. This segment distributes its insurance policies primarily through wholesale insurance brokers. The Specialty Admitted Insurance segment provides insurance for fronting, program administrators, managing general agents, and independent retail agents. James River Group Holdings, Ltd. was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in Pembroke, Bermuda.