Critical Review: The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) & International General Insurance (NASDAQ:IGIC)

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) and International General Insurance (NASDAQ:IGIC) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, dividends, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for The Hanover Insurance Group and International General Insurance, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
The Hanover Insurance Group	0	5	3	2	2.70
International General Insurance	1	0	2	0	2.33

The Hanover Insurance Group currently has a consensus price target of $225.71, indicating a potential upside of 3.78%. International General Insurance has a consensus price target of $30.00, indicating a potential upside of 22.25%. Given International General Insurance’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe International General Insurance is more favorable than The Hanover Insurance Group.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares The Hanover Insurance Group and International General Insurance”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
The Hanover Insurance Group	$6.73 billion	1.12	$662.50 million	$20.95	10.38
International General Insurance	$516.90 million	2.02	$127.15 million	$2.49	9.86

The Hanover Insurance Group has higher revenue and earnings than International General Insurance. International General Insurance is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than The Hanover Insurance Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares The Hanover Insurance Group and International General Insurance’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
The Hanover Insurance Group	11.17%	21.72%	4.61%
International General Insurance	20.68%	17.03%	5.45%

Volatility & Risk

The Hanover Insurance Group has a beta of 0.23, suggesting that its share price is 77% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, International General Insurance has a beta of 0.04, suggesting that its share price is 96% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

86.6% of The Hanover Insurance Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 54.2% of International General Insurance shares are held by institutional investors. 2.8% of The Hanover Insurance Group shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 20.1% of International General Insurance shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

The Hanover Insurance Group pays an annual dividend of $3.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. International General Insurance pays an annual dividend of $0.30 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. The Hanover Insurance Group pays out 18.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. International General Insurance pays out 12.0% 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. The Hanover Insurance Group has raised its dividend for 20 consecutive years and International General Insurance has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years. The Hanover Insurance Group is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

The Hanover Insurance Group beats International General Insurance on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About The Hanover Insurance Group

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides various property and casualty insurance products and services in the United States. The company operates through four segments: Core Commercial, Specialty, Personal Lines, and Other. The Commercial Lines segment offers commercial multiple peril, commercial automobile, workers' compensation, and other commercial lines coverage. The Specialty segment provides professional and executive Lines, marine, and surety and other, as well as specialty property and casualty, such as program business, specialty industrial business, excess and surplus business, and specialty general liability coverage. The Personal Lines segment offers personal automobile and homeowner's coverages, as well as other personal coverages, such as personal umbrella, inland marine, fire, personal watercraft, personal cyber, and other miscellaneous coverages. The Other segment markets investment advisory services to institutions, insurance companies, pension funds, and other organizations. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. markets its products and services through independent agents and brokers. The company was formerly known as Allmerica Financial Corp. and changed its name to The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. in December 2005. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. was founded in 1852 and is headquartered in Worcester, Massachusetts.

About International General Insurance

International General Insurance Holdings Ltd. engages in the provision of specialty insurance and reinsurance solutions worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Specialty Long-tail, Specialty Short-tail, and Reinsurance. It is involved in underwriting a portfolio of specialty risks, including energy, property, construction and engineering, ports and terminals, general aviation, political violence, professional lines, financial institutions, motor, marine liability, contingency, marine, treaty, and casualty insurance and reinsurance. The company was founded in 2001 and is based in Amman, Jordan.