Comparing Horace Mann Educators (NYSE:HMN) and Swiss Re (OTCMKTS:SSREY)

Horace Mann Educators (NYSE:HMN) and Swiss Re (OTCMKTS:SSREY) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, dividends, risk and analyst recommendations.

Dividends

Horace Mann Educators pays an annual dividend of $1.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Swiss Re pays an annual dividend of $1.15 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Horace Mann Educators pays out 41.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Horace Mann Educators has increased its dividend for 17 consecutive years. Horace Mann Educators is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Horace Mann Educators and Swiss Re”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Horace Mann Educators	$1.60 billion	1.17	$102.80 million	$3.38	13.54
Swiss Re	$45.60 billion	1.16	$3.24 billion	N/A	N/A

Swiss Re has higher revenue and earnings than Horace Mann Educators.

Profitability

This table compares Horace Mann Educators and Swiss Re’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Horace Mann Educators	8.49%	14.23%	1.29%
Swiss Re	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Horace Mann Educators and Swiss Re, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Horace Mann Educators	0	3	1	1	2.60
Swiss Re	2	3	1	2	2.38

Horace Mann Educators currently has a consensus target price of $46.75, indicating a potential upside of 2.12%. Given Horace Mann Educators’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Horace Mann Educators is more favorable than Swiss Re.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

99.3% of Horace Mann Educators shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.0% of Horace Mann Educators shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

Horace Mann Educators has a beta of 0.27, indicating that its share price is 73% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Swiss Re has a beta of 0.78, indicating that its share price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Horace Mann Educators beats Swiss Re on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Horace Mann Educators

Horace Mann Educators Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an insurance holding company in the United States. The company operates through Property & Casualty, Life & Retirement, and Supplemental & Group Benefits segments. Its Property & Casualty segment offers insurance products, including private passenger auto insurance, residential home insurance, and personal umbrella insurance; and provides auto coverages including liability and collision, and property coverage for homeowners and renters. The Life & Retirement segment markets tax-qualified fixed, fixed indexed, and variable annuities; and internal revenue code for educator, which allows public school employees and employees of other tax-exempt organizations, such as not-for-profit private schools, to utilize pretax income to make periodic contributions to a qualified retirement plan. The Supplemental & Group Benefits segment offers employer-sponsored products including accident, critical illness, limited-benefit fixed indemnity insurance, term life, and short-term and long-term disability, as well as worksite direct products, such as supplemental heart, cancer, disability, and accident coverage. The company was founded in 1945 and is headquartered in Springfield, Illinois.

About Swiss Re

Swiss Re AG, together with its subsidiaries, provides wholesale reinsurance, insurance, other insurance-based forms of risk transfer, and other insurance-related services worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Property & Casualty Reinsurance, Life & Health Reinsurance, and Corporate Solutions. The Property & Casualty Reinsurance segment underwrites property reinsurance, including property, credit and surety, engineering, aviation, marine, agriculture, retakaful, and facultative reinsurance solutions; and casualty reinsurance, such as liability, motor, worker's compensation, personal accident, management and professional liability, cyber, and facultative reinsurance solutions. The Life & Health Reinsurance segment underwrites life and health insurance products. The Corporate Solutions segment offers standard risk transfer covers and multi-line programs to customized solutions. It serves stock and mutual insurance companies, public sector and governmental entities, mid-sized and large corporations, and individuals. The company was founded in 1863 and is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland.