Head-To-Head Contrast: Ryan Specialty (NYSE:RYAN) versus American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG)

Ryan Specialty (NYSE:RYAN) and American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation and earnings.

Volatility and Risk

Ryan Specialty has a beta of 0.57, suggesting that its share price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, American Financial Group has a beta of 0.6, suggesting that its share price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Ryan Specialty and American Financial Group”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ryan Specialty	$3.05 billion	3.51	$63.40 million	$0.72	58.19
American Financial Group	$8.17 billion	1.45	$842.00 million	$11.44	12.49

American Financial Group has higher revenue and earnings than Ryan Specialty. American Financial Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ryan Specialty, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

84.8% of Ryan Specialty shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 64.4% of American Financial Group shares are held by institutional investors. 52.0% of Ryan Specialty shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 16.9% of American Financial Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Ryan Specialty and American Financial Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ryan Specialty	7.55%	43.97%	4.78%
American Financial Group	11.51%	20.35%	2.94%

Dividends

Ryan Specialty pays an annual dividend of $0.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. American Financial Group pays an annual dividend of $3.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Ryan Specialty pays out 72.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. American Financial Group pays out 30.8% 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. Ryan Specialty has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years and American Financial Group has increased its dividend for 19 consecutive years. American Financial Group 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 Ryan Specialty and American Financial Group, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ryan Specialty	1	10	8	0	2.37
American Financial Group	0	3	2	0	2.40

Ryan Specialty currently has a consensus target price of $53.86, indicating a potential upside of 28.55%. American Financial Group has a consensus target price of $156.00, indicating a potential upside of 9.17%. Given Ryan Specialty’s higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Ryan Specialty is more favorable than American Financial Group.

Summary

American Financial Group beats Ryan Specialty on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ryan Specialty

Ryan Specialty Holdings, Inc. operates as a service provider of specialty products and solutions for insurance brokers, agents, and carriers in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe, and Singapore. It offers distribution, underwriting, product development, administration, and risk management services by acting as a wholesale broker and a managing underwriter. The company serves commercial, industrial, institutional, and government sectors. Ryan Specialty Holdings, Inc. was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

About American Financial Group

American Financial Group, Inc., an insurance holding company, provides specialty property and casualty insurance products in the United States. The company offers property and transportation insurance products, such as physical damage and liability coverage for buses and trucks, inland and ocean marine, agricultural-related products, and other commercial property and specialty transportation coverages; specialty casualty insurance, including primarily excess and surplus, executive and professional liability, general liability, umbrella and excess liability, and specialty coverage in targeted markets, as well as customized programs for small to mid-sized businesses and workers’ compensation insurance; and specialty financial insurance products comprising risk management insurance programs for lending and leasing institutions, fidelity and surety products, and trade credit insurance. It sells its property and casualty insurance products through independent insurance agents and brokers. The company was founded in 1872 and is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio.