James River Group (NASDAQ:JRVR – Get Free Report) and Goosehead Insurance (NASDAQ:GSHD – Get Free Report) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, risk and dividends.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares James River Group and Goosehead Insurance”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| James River Group | $687.61 million | 0.41 | $47.43 million | $0.73 | 8.42 |
| Goosehead Insurance | $365.30 million | 4.12 | $27.83 million | $1.04 | 39.52 |
Profitability
This table compares James River Group and Goosehead Insurance’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| James River Group | 6.90% | 12.01% | 1.23% |
| Goosehead Insurance | 7.62% | -21.31% | 7.79% |
Institutional and Insider Ownership
95.2% of James River Group shares are held by institutional investors. 33.8% of James River Group shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 48.4% of Goosehead Insurance shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for James River Group and Goosehead Insurance, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| James River Group | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
| Goosehead Insurance | 0 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 2.54 |
James River Group currently has a consensus price target of $7.25, indicating a potential upside of 17.89%. Goosehead Insurance has a consensus price target of $77.60, indicating a potential upside of 88.81%. Given Goosehead Insurance’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Goosehead Insurance is more favorable than James River Group.
Risk and Volatility
James River Group has a beta of -0.06, meaning that its share price is 106% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Goosehead Insurance has a beta of 1.57, meaning that its share price is 57% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Goosehead Insurance beats James River Group on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About James River Group
James River Group Holdings, Ltd., through its subsidiaries, provides specialty insurance services. It operates through Excess and Surplus Lines, and Specialty Admitted Insurance segments. The Excess and Surplus Lines segment underwrites liability and property insurance in the United States Puerto Rice, and the United States Virgin Islands. This segment distributes its insurance policies primarily through wholesale insurance brokers. The Specialty Admitted Insurance segment provides insurance for fronting, program administrators, managing general agents, and independent retail agents. James River Group Holdings, Ltd. was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in Pembroke, Bermuda.
About Goosehead Insurance
Goosehead Insurance, Inc. operates as a holding company for Goosehead Financial, LLC that engages in the provision of personal lines insurance agency services in the United States. The company offers homeowner’s, automotive, dwelling property, flood, wind, earthquake, excess liability or umbrella, motorcycle, recreational vehicle, general liability, property, and life insurance products and services. As of December 31, 2023, it operated 1,415 franchise locations. The company was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Westlake, Texas.
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