Crawford & Company (NYSE:CRD.B – Get Free Report) and Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC – Get Free Report) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk and earnings.
Dividends
Crawford & Company pays an annual dividend of $0.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Stewart Information Services pays an annual dividend of $2.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. Crawford & Company pays out 66.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Stewart Information Services pays out 48.2% 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. Stewart Information Services has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years. Stewart Information Services is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Crawford & Company and Stewart Information Services, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Crawford & Company | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4.00 |
| Stewart Information Services | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2.50 |
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares Crawford & Company and Stewart Information Services”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Crawford & Company | $1.31 billion | 0.45 | $19.63 million | $0.48 | 25.39 |
| Stewart Information Services | $2.92 billion | 0.66 | $115.54 million | $4.56 | 13.82 |
Stewart Information Services has higher revenue and earnings than Crawford & Company. Stewart Information Services is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Crawford & Company, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
11.0% of Crawford & Company shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 96.9% of Stewart Information Services shares are held by institutional investors. 51.0% of Crawford & Company shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.9% of Stewart Information Services shares are held 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.
Profitability
This table compares Crawford & Company and Stewart Information Services’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Crawford & Company | 1.81% | 28.15% | 6.51% |
| Stewart Information Services | 4.12% | 10.02% | 5.12% |
Volatility & Risk
Crawford & Company has a beta of 0.64, indicating that its stock price is 36% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Stewart Information Services has a beta of 0.97, indicating that its stock price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Stewart Information Services beats Crawford & Company on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Crawford & Company
Crawford & Co. engages in the provision of claims management and outsourcing solutions to carriers, brokers, and corporates. It operates through the following segments: Crawford Loss Adjusting, Crawford TPA Solutions, and Crawford Platform Solutions. The Crawford Loss Adjusting segment consists of adjusting services provided to insurance companies and self-insured entities related to property and casualty losses caused by physical damage to commercial and residential real property and certain types of personal property. The Crawford TPA Solutions segment provides third party administration for workers’ compensation, auto and liability, disability absence management, medical management, and accident and health to corporations, brokers, and insurers worldwide. The Crawford Platform Solutions segment is involved in the management of contractor networks and the provision of claims management services to insurance companies and self-insured entities related to property, casualty, and catastrophic losses. The company was founded by Jim Crawford in 1941 and is headquartered in Peachtree Corners, GA.
About Stewart Information Services
Stewart Information Services Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides title insurance and real estate transaction related services in the United States and internationally. The company involves in searching, examining, closing, and insuring the condition of the title to real property. It also offers home and personal insurance services; services for tax-deferred exchanges; and digital customer engagement platform services. It also provides appraisal management, online notarization and closing, credit and real estate information, and search and valuation services. The company serves homebuyers and sellers, residential and commercial real estate professionals, mortgage lenders and servicers, title agencies and real estate attorneys, and home builders through direct operations, network of independent agencies, and other businesses. The company was founded in 1893 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.
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