Financial Comparison: Intact Financial (OTCMKTS:IFCZF) vs. United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS)

Intact Financial (OTCMKTS:IFCZF) and United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, earnings, profitability, valuation and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Intact Financial and United Fire Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Intact Financial	11.45%	16.77%	5.06%
United Fire Group	9.57%	15.19%	3.69%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

62.7% of United Fire Group shares are held by institutional investors. 6.1% of United Fire Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Intact Financial and United Fire Group”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Intact Financial	$20.46 billion	1.70	$2.41 billion	$13.01	15.18
United Fire Group	$1.39 billion	0.99	$118.19 million	$5.38	9.89

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Intact Financial and United Fire Group, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Intact Financial	0	2	3	0	2.60
United Fire Group	0	0	2	2	3.50

United Fire Group has a consensus target price of $52.50, suggesting a potential downside of 1.29%. Given United Fire Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe United Fire Group is more favorable than Intact Financial.

Dividends

Intact Financial pays an annual dividend of $4.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. United Fire Group pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. Intact Financial pays out 32.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. United Fire Group pays out 14.9% 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.

Summary

Intact Financial beats United Fire Group on 10 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Intact Financial

Intact Financial Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides property and casualty insurance products to individuals and businesses in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company offers insurance, such as personal auto which provides coverage from accidents, third party liability, and physical damage; personal property which provides protection for homes and contents from risks, including fire, theft, vandalism, water damages, other damages, and personal liability; and commercial line and specialty line insurance which provides commercial auto, property, and liability coverages. It also provides pet and business insurance, as well as provides risk management solutions. The company serves its products to accident and health, technology, ocean and inland marine, builder's risk, and entertainment, as well as financial services and institutions; and various products to specialty property, surety, tuition reimbursement, management liability, and cyber and environmental institutions. It offers specialty insurance products including travel insurance, brokers, direct to consumer, agencies, wholesalers, affinity group, Intact Prestige, and managing general agent platform. The company was formerly known as ING Canada Inc. and changed its name to Intact Financial Corporation in 2009. Intact Financial Corporation was founded in 1809 and is based in Toronto, Canada.

About United Fire Group

United Fire Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides property and casualty insurance for individuals and businesses in the United States. The company offers commercial and personal lines of property and casualty insurance; and reinsurance coverage for property and casualty insurance. Its commercial lines include fire and allied lines, other liability, automobile, workers’ compensation, fidelity and surety coverage, and other insurance products; and personal lines comprise automobile, and fire and allied lines coverage, including homeowners, as well as provides assumed reinsurance products. The company sells its products through a network of independent agencies. United Fire Group, Inc. was incorporated in 1946 and is headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.