Contrasting Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) & Ping An Insurance Co. of China (OTCMKTS:PNGAY)

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) and Ping An Insurance Co. of China (OTCMKTS:PNGAY) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares Travelers Companies and Ping An Insurance Co. of China’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Travelers Companies	16.95%	25.41%	5.75%
Ping An Insurance Co. of China	13.21%	12.93%	1.31%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Travelers Companies and Ping An Insurance Co. of China”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Travelers Companies	$48.83 billion	1.60	$6.29 billion	$37.34	10.04
Ping An Insurance Co. of China	$158.64 billion	0.80	$18.75 billion	$2.37	5.85

Ping An Insurance Co. of China has higher revenue and earnings than Travelers Companies. Ping An Insurance Co. of China is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Travelers Companies, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Travelers Companies and Ping An Insurance Co. of China, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Travelers Companies	5	13	4	4	2.27
Ping An Insurance Co. of China	0	0	0	1	4.00

Travelers Companies currently has a consensus target price of $354.26, indicating a potential downside of 5.51%. Given Travelers Companies’ higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Travelers Companies is more favorable than Ping An Insurance Co. of China.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

82.5% of Travelers Companies shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.0% of Ping An Insurance Co. of China shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.4% of Travelers Companies shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Ping An Insurance Co. of China shares are owned 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.

Risk & Volatility

Travelers Companies has a beta of 0.44, meaning that its share price is 56% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ping An Insurance Co. of China has a beta of 0.37, meaning that its share price is 63% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Travelers Companies pays an annual dividend of $5.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. Ping An Insurance Co. of China pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. Travelers Companies pays out 13.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Ping An Insurance Co. of China pays out 20.3% 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. Travelers Companies has increased its dividend for 21 consecutive years.

Summary

Travelers Companies beats Ping An Insurance Co. of China on 14 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Travelers Companies

The Travelers Companies, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides a range of commercial and personal property, and casualty insurance products and services to businesses, government units, associations, and individuals in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Business Insurance, Bond & Specialty Insurance, and Personal Insurance. The Business Insurance segment offers workers’ compensation, commercial automobile and property, general liability, commercial multi-peril, employers’ liability, public and product liability, professional indemnity, marine, aviation, onshore and offshore energy, construction, terrorism, personal accident, and kidnap and ransom insurance products. This segment operates through select accounts, which serve small businesses; commercial accounts that serve mid-sized businesses; national accounts, which serve large companies; and national property and other that serve large and mid-sized customers, commercial trucking industry, and agricultural businesses, as well as markets and distributes its products through brokers, wholesale agents, and program managers. The Bond & Specialty Insurance segment provides surety, fidelity, management and professional liability, and other property and casualty coverages and related risk management services through independent agencies and brokers. The Personal Insurance segment offers property and casualty insurance covering personal risks, primarily automobile and homeowners’ insurance to individuals through independent agencies and brokers. The Travelers Companies, Inc. was founded in 1853 and is based in New York, New York.

About Ping An Insurance Co. of China

Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd. provides financial products and services for insurance, banking, asset management, and technology businesses in the People's Republic of China. The company operates through Life and Health Insurance; Property and Casualty Insurance; Banking; Asset Management; and Technology segments. Its Life and Health Insurance segment offers term, whole-life, endowment, annuity, investment-linked, universal life, and health care and medical insurance to individual and corporate customers. The company's Property and Casualty Insurance segment provides auto, non-auto, and accident and health insurance to individual and corporate customers. Its Banking segment undertakes loan and intermediary businesses with corporate and retail customers; and offers wealth management and credit card services to individual customers. The company's Asset Management segment provides trust products services, brokerage services, trading services, investment banking services, investment management, finance lease, and other asset management services. Its Technology segment offers financial and daily-life services through internet platforms, such as financial transaction information service, and health care service platforms. The company also provides annuity insurance, IT and business process outsourcing, real estate investment and management, futures brokerage, project investment, currency brokerage, property agency, fund raising and distribution, real estate development and leasing, and insurance agency services. In addition, it provides factoring, equity investment, logistics and warehousing, management consulting, e-commerce, and credit information services; and operates an expressway, as well as produces and sells consumer chemicals. The company was incorporated in 1988 and is based in Shenzhen, China.