James River Group (NASDAQ:JRVR) versus TWFG (NASDAQ:TWFG) Critical Contrast

TWFG (NASDAQ:TWFG) and James River Group (NASDAQ:JRVR) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends, earnings, profitability and risk.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for TWFG and James River Group, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
TWFG	0	4	4	0	2.50
James River Group	1	6	0	0	1.86

TWFG presently has a consensus price target of $29.57, suggesting a potential upside of 10.63%. James River Group has a consensus price target of $5.75, suggesting a potential upside of 55.83%. Given James River Group’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe James River Group is more favorable than TWFG.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares TWFG and James River Group”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
TWFG	$247.08 million	5.85	$7.96 million	$0.59	45.31
James River Group	$687.61 million	0.25	$47.43 million	$0.38	9.71

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

Profitability

This table compares TWFG and James River Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
TWFG	2.90%	19.49%	15.20%
James River Group	4.68%	9.93%	1.07%

Volatility and Risk

TWFG has a beta of 0.18, meaning that its share price is 82% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, James River Group has a beta of -0.21, meaning that its share price is 121% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

95.2% of James River Group shares are held by institutional investors. 68.4% of TWFG shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 33.8% of James River Group shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

TWFG beats James River Group on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About TWFG

TWFG, Inc. operates an independent distribution platform for personal and commercial insurance products in the United States. Its personal and commercial insurance products include auto, home, renters, life, health, motorcycle, umbrella, boat, recreational vehicle, flood, wind, event, luxury item, general liability, property, business auto, workers’ compensation, business owner policy, and professional liability insurance products, as well as commercial bonds and group benefits. The company was founded in 2001 and is based in The Woodlands, Texas. TWFG, Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Bunch Family Holdings, LLC.

About James River Group

James River Group Holdings, Ltd., through its subsidiaries, provides specialty insurance services. It operates through Excess and Surplus Lines, and Specialty Admitted Insurance segments. The Excess and Surplus Lines segment underwrites liability and property insurance in the United States Puerto Rice, and the United States Virgin Islands. This segment distributes its insurance policies primarily through wholesale insurance brokers. The Specialty Admitted Insurance segment provides insurance for fronting, program administrators, managing general agents, and independent retail agents. James River Group Holdings, Ltd. was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in Pembroke, Bermuda.