Critical Comparison: Ageas (OTCMKTS:AGESY) and American International Group (NYSE:AIG)

Ageas (OTCMKTS:AGESY) and American International Group (NYSE:AIG) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, risk, valuation, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Ageas and American International Group”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ageas	$14.68 billion	0.90	$1.21 billion	N/A	N/A
American International Group	$26.78 billion	1.49	$3.10 billion	$5.42	13.72

American International Group has higher revenue and earnings than Ageas.

Profitability

This table compares Ageas and American International Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ageas	N/A	N/A	N/A
American International Group	11.56%	9.79%	2.48%

Volatility and Risk

Ageas has a beta of 0.4, meaning that its stock price is 60% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, American International Group has a beta of 0.58, meaning that its stock price is 42% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

90.6% of American International Group shares are held by institutional investors. 0.6% of American International Group shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Ageas pays an annual dividend of $2.81 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. American International Group pays an annual dividend of $1.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. American International Group pays out 33.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. American International Group has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Ageas and American International Group, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ageas	0	1	1	0	2.50
American International Group	0	12	8	1	2.48

American International Group has a consensus target price of $88.17, indicating a potential upside of 18.58%. Given American International Group’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe American International Group is more favorable than Ageas.

Summary

American International Group beats Ageas on 13 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ageas

ageas SA/NV, together with its subsidiaries, engages in insurance business. It operates in five segments: Belgium, Europe, Asia, Reinsurance, and General Account. The company offers property, casualty, and life insurance products, as well as pension products; and reinsurance products. It provides life insurance products include risks related to the life and death of individuals; and non-life insurance products comprise accident and health, motor, fire, and other property insurance products, as well as insurance services for other damages to property. The company serves private individuals, as well as small, medium-sized, and large companies through independent brokers and the bank channels. ageas SA/NV was founded in 1824 and is headquartered in Brussels, Belgium.

About American International Group

American International Group, Inc. offers insurance products for commercial, institutional, and individual customers in North America and internationally. It operates through three segments: General Insurance, Life and Retirement, and Other Operations. The General Insurance segment provides commercial and industrial property insurance, including business interruption and package insurance that cover exposure to made and natural disasters; general liability, environmental, commercial automobile liability, workers’ compensation, excess casualty, and crisis management insurance products; and professional liability insurance. This segment offers marine, energy-related property insurance, aviation, political risk, trade credit, trade finance, and portfolio solutions, as well as operates reinsurance business; voluntary and sponsor-paid personal accident, and supplemental health products; and personal auto and personal property insurance. Its Life and Retirement segment offers individual retirement products, including variable, fixed index, and fixed annuities, as well as retail mutual funds; group retirement products comprising record-keeping, plan administrative and compliance services, financial planning, and advisory solutions; life insurance, including term and universal life insurance; and institutional markets products, which includes wrap products, structured settlement, pension risk transfer annuities, corporate and bank-owned life insurance, high net worth, and guaranteed investment contract products. It distributes its products through a network of brokers, agents, advisors, banks, and other distributors. The company was founded in 1919 and is headquartered in New York, New York.