Reviewing Sampo (OTCMKTS:SAXPY) & CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA)

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) and Sampo (OTCMKTS:SAXPY) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, profitability, dividends, risk and analyst recommendations.

Volatility & Risk

CNA Financial has a beta of 0.37, suggesting that its share price is 63% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Sampo has a beta of 0.45, suggesting that its share price is 55% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

98.5% of CNA Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.0% of Sampo shares are held by institutional investors. 0.3% of CNA Financial shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares CNA Financial and Sampo”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
CNA Financial	$14.27 billion	0.88	$959.00 million	$3.65	12.78
Sampo	$2.47 billion	49.97	$1.25 billion	$1.39	16.62

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for CNA Financial and Sampo, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
CNA Financial	0	3	0	0	2.00
Sampo	0	2	0	1	2.67

CNA Financial presently has a consensus price target of $53.00, indicating a potential upside of 13.64%. Given CNA Financial’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe CNA Financial is more favorable than Sampo.

Profitability

This table compares CNA Financial and Sampo’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
CNA Financial	6.71%	12.78%	2.01%
Sampo	N/A	19.32%	5.57%

Dividends

CNA Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Sampo pays an annual dividend of $0.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. CNA Financial pays out 50.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Sampo pays out 23.0% 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. CNA Financial has increased its dividend for 9 consecutive years. CNA Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Sampo beats CNA Financial on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About CNA Financial

CNA Financial Corporation provides commercial property and casualty insurance products in the United States and internationally. It operates through Specialty, Commercial, International, Life & Group, and Corporate & Other segments. The company offers professional liability coverages and risk management services to various professional firms, including architects, real estate agents, and accounting and law firms; directors and officers, employment practices, fiduciary, and fidelity and cyber coverages to small and mid-size firms, public and privately held firms, and not-for-profit organizations; professional and general liability, as well as associated casualty coverages for healthcare industry; surety and fidelity bonds; and warranty and alternative risks products. It also provides property, marine, boiler, and machinery coverage insurance products; casualty insurance products comprising workers' compensation, general and product liability, commercial auto, umbrella, and excess and surplus coverages; specialized loss-sensitive insurance programs and total risk management services; and run-off long term care policies. The company was founded in 1853 and is based in Chicago, Illinois. CNA Financial Corporation operates as a subsidiary of Loews Corporation.

About Sampo

Sampo Oyj, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of non-life insurance products and services in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, and the United Kingdom. The company operates through If, Topdanmark, Hastings, Mandatum, and Holding segments. It offers property, casualty, liability, accident, sickness, household, homeowner, motor, travel, marine, aviation, transport, forest, livestock, health, workers compensation, car, van, and bike insurance services, as well as reinsurance services. The company was founded in 1909 and is based in Helsinki, Finland.