Critical Survey: Assicurazioni Generali (OTCMKTS:ARZGF) vs. Tiptree Financial (NASDAQ:TIPT)

Assicurazioni Generali (OTCMKTS:ARZGF) and Tiptree Financial (NASDAQ:TIPT) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, risk, institutional ownership and earnings.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Assicurazioni Generali and Tiptree Financial”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Assicurazioni Generali	N/A	N/A	N/A	$1.24	38.76
Tiptree Financial	-$3.14 million	-217.03	$34.93 million	$10.81	1.69

Tiptree Financial has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Assicurazioni Generali. Tiptree Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Assicurazioni Generali, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

14.6% of Assicurazioni Generali shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 37.8% of Tiptree Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 31.9% of Tiptree Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Assicurazioni Generali and Tiptree Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Assicurazioni Generali	N/A	N/A	N/A
Tiptree Financial	2.36%	0.75%	0.11%

Dividends

Assicurazioni Generali pays an annual dividend of $0.33 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Tiptree Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. Assicurazioni Generali pays out 26.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Tiptree Financial pays out 2.2% 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. Tiptree Financial has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Tiptree Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Assicurazioni Generali and Tiptree Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Assicurazioni Generali	0	0	0	0	0.00
Tiptree Financial	0	1	0	0	2.00

Summary

Tiptree Financial beats Assicurazioni Generali on 10 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Assicurazioni Generali

Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A. engages in the provision of various insurance solutions under the Generali brand worldwide. The company operates through Life, Property & Casualty, and Asset & Wealth Management segments. It offers savings, individual and family protection, and unit linked, as well as motor third-party liability, home, casualty, accident, health, and commercial and industrial risks insurance products; and insurance plans for multinational companies. The company also provides equity and fixed-income funds, and alternative products. The company was formerly known as Assicurazioni Generali Austro-Italiche and changed its name to Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A. in 1848. Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A. was founded in 1831 and is headquartered in Trieste, Italy.

About Tiptree Financial

Tiptree Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides specialty insurance products and related services primarily in the United States. It operates through two segments: Insurance and Mortgage. The company offers niche; commercial lines insurance products, including professional liability, general liability, contractual liability protection, property and other short-tail, and alternative risks insurance products; and personal lines insurance products, such as credit protection surrounding loan payments. It also provides auto and consumer warranty programs, including mobile devices, consumer electronics, appliances, furniture; and vehicle service contracts, GAP, and ancillary products; as well as premium or warranty contract financing services, lead generation support, and business process outsourcing services. In addition, the company offers mortgage loans for institutional investors; asset management services; and maritime shipping and asset management services, as well as invests in shares. It markets its products through a network of independent insurance agents, consumer finance companies, online retailers, auto dealers, and regional big box retailers. The company was formerly known as Tiptree Financial Inc. and changed its name to Tiptree Inc. in December 2016. Tiptree Inc. was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut.