Comparing Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) & Tiptree Financial (NASDAQ:TIPT)

Tiptree Financial (NASDAQ:TIPT) and Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations and profitability.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Tiptree Financial	N/A	-2.27%	-0.37%
Manulife Financial	9.99%	16.68%	0.75%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Tiptree Financial and Manulife Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Tiptree Financial	0	1	0	0	2.00
Manulife Financial	0	2	3	2	3.00

Manulife Financial has a consensus target price of $58.75, suggesting a potential upside of 31.24%. Given Manulife Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Manulife Financial is more favorable than Tiptree Financial.

Dividends

Tiptree Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Manulife Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.38 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Tiptree Financial pays out 2.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Manulife Financial pays out 51.5% 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. Tiptree Financial has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years and Manulife Financial has increased its dividend for 12 consecutive years. Manulife Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Volatility and Risk

Tiptree Financial has a beta of 0.95, suggesting that its stock price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Manulife Financial has a beta of 0.84, suggesting that its stock price is 16% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Tiptree Financial and Manulife Financial”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Tiptree Financial	$490,000.00	1,336.84	$34.93 million	$10.82	1.63
Manulife Financial	$43.63 billion	1.70	$4.14 billion	$2.68	16.70

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

37.8% of Tiptree Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 52.6% of Manulife Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 31.9% of Tiptree Financial shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.0% of Manulife Financial shares are held by 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.

Summary

Manulife Financial beats Tiptree Financial on 13 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Manulife Financial

Manulife Financial Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial products and services in the United States, Canada, Asia, and internationally. The company operates through Wealth and Asset Management Businesses; Insurance and Annuity Products; and Corporate and Other segments. The Wealth and Asset Management Businesses segment offers investment advice and solutions to retirement, retail, and institutional clients through multiple distribution channels, including agents and brokers affiliated with the company, independent securities brokerage firms and financial advisors pension plan consultants, and banks. The Insurance and Annuity Products segment provides deposit and credit products; and individual life insurance, individual and group long-term care insurance, and guaranteed and partially guaranteed annuity products through multiple distribution channels, including insurance agents, brokers, banks, financial planners, and direct marketing. The Corporate and Other segment is involved in the property and casualty reinsurance businesses; and run-off reinsurance operations, including variable annuities, and accident and health. The company also manages timberland and agricultural portfolios; and engages in insurance agency, investment counseling and dealer, portfolio and mutual fund management, property and casualty insurance, and mutual fund dealer businesses. In addition, it provides integrated banking products and services. The company was incorporated in 1887 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.