Financial Contrast: Assicurazioni Generali (OTCMKTS:ARZGY) and Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO)

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) and Assicurazioni Generali (OTCMKTS:ARZGY) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation, dividends and institutional ownership.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

71.0% of Brown & Brown shares are owned by institutional investors. 13.1% of Brown & Brown shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Brown & Brown and Assicurazioni Generali, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Brown & Brown	1	14	4	0	2.16
Assicurazioni Generali	0	0	0	0	0.00

Brown & Brown currently has a consensus price target of $76.80, suggesting a potential upside of 4.75%. Given Brown & Brown’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Brown & Brown is more favorable than Assicurazioni Generali.

Profitability

This table compares Brown & Brown and Assicurazioni Generali’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Brown & Brown	17.75%	13.17%	5.56%
Assicurazioni Generali	N/A	N/A	N/A

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Brown & Brown and Assicurazioni Generali”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Brown & Brown	$5.90 billion	4.16	$1.05 billion	$3.17	23.13
Assicurazioni Generali	N/A	N/A	N/A	$0.62	41.09

Brown & Brown has higher revenue and earnings than Assicurazioni Generali. Brown & Brown is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Assicurazioni Generali, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Brown & Brown beats Assicurazioni Generali on 10 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Brown & Brown

Brown & Brown, Inc. is an insurance agency, wholesale brokerage, insurance program and service organization. It engages in the provision of insurance brokerage services and casualty insurance underwriting services. It operates through the following segments: Retail, National Programs, Wholesale Brokerage, and Services. The Retail Segment receives fees in lieu of commissions. The National Programs segment acts as a managing general agent and provides professional liability and related package products for certain professionals, a range of insurance products for individuals, flood coverage, and targeted products and services designated for specific industries, trade groups, governmental entities and market niches. The Wholesale Brokerage segment markets and sells excess and surplus commercial and personal lines insurance, primarily through independent agents and brokers, as well as the company’s retail agents. The Services segment provides insurance-related services, including third-party claims administration and comprehensive medical utilization management services in both the workers’ compensation and all-lines liability arenas, as well as Medicare Set-aside services, social security disability and Medicare benefits advocacy services and claims adjusting services. The company was founded by J. Adrian Brown and Charles Covington Owen in 1939 and is headquartered in Daytona Beach, FL.

About Assicurazioni Generali

Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A. engages in the provision of various insurance solutions under the Generali brand worldwide. The company operates through Life, Property & Casualty, and Asset & Wealth Management segments. It offers savings, individual and family protection, and unit linked, as well as motor third-party liability, home, casualty, accident, health, and commercial and industrial risks insurance products; and insurance plans for multinational companies. The company also provides equity and fixed-income funds, and alternative products. The company was formerly known as Assicurazioni Generali Austro-Italiche and changed its name to Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A. in 1848. Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A. was founded in 1831 and is headquartered in Trieste, Italy.