Analyzing Hamilton Insurance Group (NYSE:HG) and Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO)

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) and Hamilton Insurance Group (NYSE:HG) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, dividends, profitability, risk and analyst recommendations.

Volatility and Risk

Assured Guaranty has a beta of 0.75, indicating that its share price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hamilton Insurance Group has a beta of 0.35, indicating that its share price is 65% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Assured Guaranty and Hamilton Insurance Group”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Assured Guaranty	$1.11 billion	3.36	$503.00 million	$8.71	9.67
Hamilton Insurance Group	$2.91 billion	1.22	$576.67 million	$6.11	5.83

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

Profitability

This table compares Assured Guaranty and Hamilton Insurance Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Assured Guaranty	40.45%	6.98%	3.25%
Hamilton Insurance Group	21.73%	23.19%	6.74%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Assured Guaranty and Hamilton Insurance Group, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Assured Guaranty	0	2	3	0	2.60
Hamilton Insurance Group	0	3	6	0	2.67

Assured Guaranty currently has a consensus target price of $91.67, suggesting a potential upside of 8.79%. Hamilton Insurance Group has a consensus target price of $35.38, suggesting a potential downside of 0.74%. Given Assured Guaranty’s higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Assured Guaranty is more favorable than Hamilton Insurance Group.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

92.2% of Assured Guaranty shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 29.2% of Hamilton Insurance Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.7% of Assured Guaranty shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.0% of Hamilton Insurance Group shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Assured Guaranty beats Hamilton Insurance Group on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Assured Guaranty

Assured Guaranty Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides credit protection products to public finance, infrastructure, and structured finance markets in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments: Insurance and Asset Management. The company offers financial guaranty insurance that protects holders of debt instruments and other monetary obligations from defaults in scheduled payments. It insures and reinsures various debt obligations, including bonds issued by the United States state governmental authorities; and notes issued to finance infrastructure projects. In addition, the company insures and reinsures various the U.S. public finance obligations, such as general obligation, tax-backed, municipal utility, transportation, healthcare, higher education, infrastructure, housing revenue, investor-owned utility, renewable energy, and other public finance bonds. Further, the company involved in insuring and reinsuring of non-U.S. public finance obligations comprising regulated utilities, infrastructure finance, sovereign and sub-sovereign, renewable energy bonds, pooled infrastructure, and other public finance obligations; and the U.S. and non-U.S. Structured finance obligations, including residential mortgage-backed securities, life insurance transactions, consumer receivables securities, subscription finance facilities, pooled corporate obligations, and financial products. Additionally, it offers specialty business, such as real estate properties, insurance securitizations, and aircraft residual value insurance (RVI) transactions; and asset management services comprising investment advisory services. It markets its financial guaranty insurance directly to issuers and underwriters of public finance and structured finance securities, as well as to investors in such obligations. Assured Guaranty Ltd. was incorporated in 2003 and is headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda.

About Hamilton Insurance Group

Hamilton Insurance Group, Ltd., through its subsidiaries, provides underwriting specialty insurance and reinsurance risks in Bermuda and internationally. The company operates Hamilton Global Specialty, Hamilton Select, and Hamilton Re underwriting platforms. The company offers casualty reinsurance products, such as commercial motor, general liability, healthcare, multiline, personal motor, professional liability, umbrella and excess casualty, and worker's compensation and employer's liability reinsurance; property reinsurance and insurance; and specialty reinsurance solutions, including accident and health, aviation and space, crisis management, mortgage, financial lines, marine and energy, and multiline specialty. In addition, it offers accident and health, cyber, energy, environmental, financial lines, fine art and specie, kidnap and ransom, mergers and acquisitions, marine and energy liability, political risk and violence, professional liability, property binders, property direct and facultative, professional lines, space, upstream energy, excess casualty, war and terrorism, allied medical, management liability, medical professionals, general liability, products liability and contractors, and small business casualty insurance plans, as well as surety and treaty reinsurance products. The company was incorporated in 2013 and is headquartered in Pembroke, Bermuda.