Critical Contrast: Globe Life (NYSE:GL) versus Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC)

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) and Globe Life (NYSE:GL) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, profitability, earnings, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Volatility & Risk

Stewart Information Services has a beta of 1.04, meaning that its stock price is 4% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Globe Life has a beta of 0.44, meaning that its stock price is 56% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Stewart Information Services pays an annual dividend of $2.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.2%. Globe Life pays an annual dividend of $1.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. Stewart Information Services pays out 48.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Globe Life pays out 8.8% 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 increased its dividend for 4 consecutive years and Globe Life has increased its dividend for 20 consecutive years.

Profitability

This table compares Stewart Information Services and Globe Life’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Stewart Information Services	4.12%	10.02%	5.12%
Globe Life	19.58%	20.52%	3.96%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Stewart Information Services and Globe Life”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Stewart Information Services	$2.92 billion	0.54	$115.54 million	$4.56	11.41
Globe Life	$5.99 billion	2.15	$1.16 billion	$15.06	11.14

Globe Life has higher revenue and earnings than Stewart Information Services. Globe Life is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Stewart Information Services, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

96.9% of Stewart Information Services shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 81.6% of Globe Life shares are held by institutional investors. 2.9% of Stewart Information Services shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.1% of Globe Life shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Stewart Information Services and Globe Life, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Stewart Information Services	0	3	4	0	2.57
Globe Life	0	2	8	1	2.91

Stewart Information Services presently has a consensus target price of $80.25, indicating a potential upside of 54.25%. Globe Life has a consensus target price of $189.56, indicating a potential upside of 12.97%. Given Stewart Information Services’ higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Stewart Information Services is more favorable than Globe Life.

Summary

Globe Life beats Stewart Information Services on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Globe Life

Globe Life Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides various life and supplemental health insurance products, and annuities to lower middle- and middle-income families in the United States. The company operates in four segments: Life Insurance, Supplemental Health Insurance, Annuities, and Investments. It offers whole, term, and other life insurance products; Medicare supplement and supplemental health insurance products, such as accident, cancer, critical illness, heart, and intensive care plans; and single-premium and flexible-premium deferred annuities. The company sells its products through its direct to consumer division, exclusive agencies, and independent agents. The company was formerly known as Torchmark Corporation and changed its name to Globe Life Inc. in August 2019. Globe Life Inc. was founded in 1900 and is headquartered in McKinney, Texas.