Contrasting Globe Life (NYSE:GL) & Crawford & Company (NYSE:CRD.B)

Crawford & Company (NYSE:CRD.B) and Globe Life (NYSE:GL) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings and risk.

Risk & Volatility

Crawford & Company has a beta of 0.6, meaning that its stock price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Globe Life has a beta of 0.48, meaning that its stock price is 52% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Crawford & Company pays an annual dividend of $0.30 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Globe Life pays an annual dividend of $1.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Crawford & Company pays out 83.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Globe Life pays out 8.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Globe Life has raised its dividend for 20 consecutive years.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Crawford & Company and Globe Life”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Crawford & Company	$1.31 billion	0.43	$19.63 million	$0.36	32.36
Globe Life	$5.99 billion	2.37	$1.16 billion	$15.06	12.14

Globe Life has higher revenue and earnings than Crawford & Company. Globe Life is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Crawford & Company, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

11.0% of Crawford & Company shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 81.6% of Globe Life shares are owned by institutional investors. 51.0% of Crawford & Company shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.1% of Globe Life shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Crawford & Company and Globe Life, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Crawford & Company	0	1	0	0	2.00
Globe Life	0	2	8	1	2.91

Globe Life has a consensus price target of $191.67, suggesting a potential upside of 4.85%. Given Globe Life’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Globe Life is more favorable than Crawford & Company.

Profitability

This table compares Crawford & Company and Globe Life’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Crawford & Company	1.81%	28.44%	6.47%
Globe Life	19.58%	20.73%	3.99%

Summary

Globe Life beats Crawford & Company on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Crawford & Company

Crawford & Co. engages in the provision of claims management and outsourcing solutions to carriers, brokers, and corporates. It operates through the following segments: Crawford Loss Adjusting, Crawford TPA Solutions, and Crawford Platform Solutions. The Crawford Loss Adjusting segment consists of adjusting services provided to insurance companies and self-insured entities related to property and casualty losses caused by physical damage to commercial and residential real property and certain types of personal property. The Crawford TPA Solutions segment provides third party administration for workers’ compensation, auto and liability, disability absence management, medical management, and accident and health to corporations, brokers, and insurers worldwide. The Crawford Platform Solutions segment is involved in the management of contractor networks and the provision of claims management services to insurance companies and self-insured entities related to property, casualty, and catastrophic losses. The company was founded by Jim Crawford in 1941 and is headquartered in Peachtree Corners, GA.

About Globe Life

Globe Life Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides various life and supplemental health insurance products, and annuities to lower middle- and middle-income families in the United States. The company operates in four segments: Life Insurance, Supplemental Health Insurance, Annuities, and Investments. It offers whole, term, and other life insurance products; Medicare supplement and supplemental health insurance products, such as accident, cancer, critical illness, heart, and intensive care plans; and single-premium and flexible-premium deferred annuities. The company sells its products through its direct to consumer division, exclusive agencies, and independent agents. The company was formerly known as Torchmark Corporation and changed its name to Globe Life Inc. in August 2019. Globe Life Inc. was founded in 1900 and is headquartered in McKinney, Texas.