Comparing Horace Mann Educators (NYSE:HMN) and Fidelity National Financial (NYSE:FNF)

Fidelity National Financial (NYSE:FNF) and Horace Mann Educators (NYSE:HMN) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, institutional ownership, dividends, valuation and earnings.

Valuation & Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Fidelity National Financial	$13.68 billion	1.15	$1.27 billion	$4.15	13.53
Horace Mann Educators	$1.70 billion	1.04	$162.10 million	$3.90	11.16

Fidelity National Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Horace Mann Educators. Horace Mann Educators is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Fidelity National Financial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility & Risk

Fidelity National Financial has a beta of 0.98, indicating that its share price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Horace Mann Educators has a beta of 0.06, indicating that its share price is 94% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Fidelity National Financial pays an annual dividend of $2.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. Horace Mann Educators pays an annual dividend of $1.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Fidelity National Financial pays out 50.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Horace Mann Educators pays out 35.9% 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. Fidelity National Financial has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years and Horace Mann Educators has raised its dividend for 17 consecutive years.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

81.2% of Fidelity National Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 99.3% of Horace Mann Educators shares are held by institutional investors. 5.5% of Fidelity National Financial shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 4.0% of Horace Mann Educators shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Fidelity National Financial and Horace Mann Educators, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Fidelity National Financial	0	1	3	0	2.75
Horace Mann Educators	0	1	2	1	3.00

Fidelity National Financial presently has a consensus target price of $68.25, suggesting a potential upside of 21.59%. Horace Mann Educators has a consensus target price of $47.33, suggesting a potential upside of 8.73%. Given Fidelity National Financial’s higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Fidelity National Financial is more favorable than Horace Mann Educators.

Profitability

This table compares Fidelity National Financial and Horace Mann Educators’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Fidelity National Financial	8.34%	15.06%	1.33%
Horace Mann Educators	9.53%	13.92%	1.31%

Summary

Fidelity National Financial beats Horace Mann Educators on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Fidelity National Financial

Fidelity National Financial, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides various insurance products in the United States. The company operates through Title, F&G, and Corporate and Other segments. It offers title insurance, escrow, and other title related services, including trust activities, trustee sales guarantees, recordings and reconveyances, and home warranty products. The company also provides technology and transaction services to the real estate and mortgage industries; and mortgage transaction services, including title-related services and facilitation of production and management of mortgage loans. In addition, it offers annuity and life insurance products, such as deferred and immediate annuities, as well as indexed universal life insurance products; and funding agreements and pension risk transfer (PRT) solutions. Further, the company engages in the real estate brokerage business. Fidelity National Financial, Inc. was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida.

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.