Contrasting NI (NASDAQ:NODK) & Tiptree Financial (NASDAQ:TIPT)

NI (NASDAQ:NODK) and Tiptree Financial (NASDAQ:TIPT) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, risk, valuation, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares NI and Tiptree Financial”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
NI	$267.39 million	1.20	-$10.41 million	$0.38	41.53
Tiptree Financial	$490,000.00	1,357.28	$34.93 million	$10.82	1.65

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

21.9% of NI shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 37.8% of Tiptree Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of NI shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 31.9% of Tiptree Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk and Volatility

NI has a beta of 0.25, meaning that its stock price is 75% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Tiptree Financial has a beta of 0.71, meaning that its stock price is 29% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares NI and Tiptree Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
NI	2.93%	3.18%	1.50%
Tiptree Financial	N/A	-2.21%	-0.46%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for NI and Tiptree Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
NI	0	1	0	0	2.00
Tiptree Financial	0	1	0	0	2.00

Summary

Tiptree Financial beats NI on 6 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About NI

NI Holdings, Inc. underwrites property and casualty insurance products in the United States. Its products include private passenger auto, non-standard automobile, homeowners, farm owners, crop hail and multi-peril crop, and liability insurance policies. The company was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in Fargo, North Dakota. NI Holdings, Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Nodak Mutual Group, Inc.

About Tiptree Financial

Tiptree Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides specialty insurance products and related services primarily in the United States. It operates through two segments: Insurance and Mortgage. The company offers niche; commercial lines insurance products, including professional liability, general liability, contractual liability protection, property and other short-tail, and alternative risks insurance products; and personal lines insurance products, such as credit protection surrounding loan payments. It also provides auto and consumer warranty programs, including mobile devices, consumer electronics, appliances, furniture; and vehicle service contracts, GAP, and ancillary products; as well as premium or warranty contract financing services, lead generation support, and business process outsourcing services. In addition, the company offers mortgage loans for institutional investors; asset management services; and maritime shipping and asset management services, as well as invests in shares. It markets its products through a network of independent insurance agents, consumer finance companies, online retailers, auto dealers, and regional big box retailers. The company was formerly known as Tiptree Financial Inc. and changed its name to Tiptree Inc. in December 2016. Tiptree Inc. was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut.