Contrasting Progressive (NYSE:PGR) and Investors Title (NASDAQ:ITIC)

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) and Investors Title (NASDAQ:ITIC) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

85.3% of Progressive shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 41.4% of Investors Title shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Progressive shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 26.4% of Investors Title shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Progressive and Investors Title’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Progressive	11.10%	33.50%	8.37%
Investors Title	11.37%	11.44%	8.74%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Progressive and Investors Title”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Progressive	$78.51 billion	1.94	$8.48 billion	$14.83	17.55
Investors Title	$258.30 million	1.61	$31.07 million	$15.70	14.06

Progressive has higher revenue and earnings than Investors Title. Investors Title is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Progressive, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Progressive pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.2%. Investors Title pays an annual dividend of $1.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. Progressive pays out 2.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Investors Title pays out 11.7% 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.

Risk & Volatility

Progressive has a beta of 0.37, meaning that its share price is 63% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Investors Title has a beta of 0.88, meaning that its share price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Progressive and Investors Title, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Progressive	0	7	11	0	2.61
Investors Title	0	0	0	0	0.00

Progressive presently has a consensus target price of $288.88, suggesting a potential upside of 10.98%. Given Progressive’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Progressive is more favorable than Investors Title.

Summary

Progressive beats Investors Title on 10 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Progressive

The Progressive Corporation, an insurance holding company, provides personal and commercial auto, personal residential and commercial property, business related general liability, and other specialty property-casualty insurance products and related services in the United States. It operates in three segments: Personal Lines, Commercial Lines, and Property. The Personal Lines segment writes insurance for personal autos and recreational vehicles (RV). This segment's products include personal auto insurance; and special lines products, including insurance for motorcycles, ATVs, RVs, watercrafts, snowmobiles, and related products. The Commercial Lines segment provides auto-related liability and physical damage insurance, and business-related general liability and property insurance for autos, vans, and pick-up trucks used by small businesses, as well as non-fleet taxis, black-car services, and airport taxis; tractors, trailers, and straight trucks primarily used by regional general freight and expeditor-type businesses, and long-haul operators; dump trucks used by light contractors and heavy constructions; log trucks and garbage trucks used by dirt, sand and gravel, logging, garbage/debris removal, and coal-type businesses; and tow trucks and wreckers used in towing services and gas/service station businesses. The Property segment writes residential property insurance for homeowners, other property owners, and renters, as well as offers manufactured homes, personal umbrella insurance, and primary and excess flood insurance. The company offers policy issuance and claims adjusting services; acts as an agent to homeowners, general liability, workers' compensation insurance, and other products; and reinsurance services. It sells its products through independent insurance agencies, as well as through mobile applications and over the phone. The Progressive Corporation was founded in 1937 and is headquartered in Mayfield Village, Ohio.

About Investors Title

Investors Title Company engages in the issuance of residential and commercial title insurance for residential, institutional, commercial, and industrial properties. The company underwrites land title insurance for owners and mortgagees as a primary insurer; and assumes the reinsurance of title insurance risks from other title insurance companies. It offers services in connection with tax-deferred exchanges of like-kind property; acts as a qualified intermediary in tax-deferred exchanges of property; coordinates the exchange aspects of the real estate transaction, such as drafting standard exchange documents, holding the exchange funds between the sale of the old property and the purchase of the new property, and accepting the formal identification of the replacement property. In addition, it serves as an exchange accommodation titleholder for accomplishing reverse exchanges when the taxpayers decide to acquire replacement property before selling the relinquished property. Further, the company offers investment management and trust services to individuals, companies, banks, and trusts; and consulting and management services to clients to start and operate a title insurance agency. It issues title insurance policies directly and through a network of agents in 22 states and the District of Columbia, primarily in the eastern half of the United States. Investors Title Company was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.