Comparing Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHFAP) & Cincinnati Financial (NASDAQ:CINF)

Cincinnati Financial (NASDAQ:CINF) and Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHFAP) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk and institutional ownership.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

65.2% of Cincinnati Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.9% of Cincinnati Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Cincinnati Financial and Brighthouse Financial”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Cincinnati Financial	$13.95 billion	1.95	$2.39 billion	$21.20	8.38
Brighthouse Financial	$5.53 billion	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Cincinnati Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Brighthouse Financial.

Profitability

This table compares Cincinnati Financial and Brighthouse Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cincinnati Financial	23.84%	9.63%	3.70%
Brighthouse Financial	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Cincinnati Financial and Brighthouse Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cincinnati Financial	0	3	1	1	2.60
Brighthouse Financial	0	0	0	0	0.00

Cincinnati Financial currently has a consensus target price of $197.60, indicating a potential upside of 11.21%. Given Cincinnati Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Cincinnati Financial is more favorable than Brighthouse Financial.

Dividends

Cincinnati Financial pays an annual dividend of $3.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Brighthouse Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.65 per share and has a dividend yield of 11.8%. Cincinnati Financial pays out 17.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Cincinnati Financial has raised its dividend for 65 consecutive years.

Summary

Cincinnati Financial beats Brighthouse Financial on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Cincinnati Financial

Cincinnati Financial Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides property casualty insurance products in the United States. It operates through five segments: Commercial Lines Insurance, Personal Lines Insurance, Excess and Surplus Lines Insurance, Life Insurance, and Investments. The Commercial Lines Insurance segment offers coverage for commercial casualty, commercial property, commercial auto, and workers' compensation. It also provides contract and commercial surety bonds, and fidelity bonds; and machinery and equipment. The Personal Lines Insurance segment offers personal auto insurance; homeowner insurance; and dwelling fire, inland marine, personal umbrella liability, and watercraft coverages to individuals. The Excess and Surplus Lines Insurance segment offers commercial casualty insurance that covers businesses for third-party liability from accidents occurring on their premises or arising out of their operations, such as injuries sustained from products, as well as other coverages, including miscellaneous errors and omissions, professional liability, and excess liability; and commercial property insurance, which insures buildings, inventory, equipment, and business income from loss or damage due to various causes, such as fire, wind, hail, water, theft, and vandalism. The Life Insurance segment provides term life insurance products; universal life insurance products; worksite products, such as term life; and whole life insurance products, as well as annuities. The Investments segment invests in fixed-maturity investments, including taxable and tax-exempt bonds, redeemable preferred stocks, and mortgage-backed securities; and equity investments comprising common and nonredeemable preferred stocks. It also offers commercial leasing and financing services; and insurance brokerage services. Cincinnati Financial Corporation was founded in 1950 and is headquartered in Fairfield, Ohio.

About Brighthouse Financial

Brighthouse Financial, Inc. provides annuity and life insurance products in the United States. It operates through three segments: Annuities, Life, and Run-off. The Annuities segment consists of variable, fixed, index-linked, and income annuities for contract holders' needs for protected wealth accumulation on a tax-deferred basis, wealth transfer, and income security. The Life segment offers term, universal, whole, and variable life products for policyholders' needs for financial security and protected wealth transfer. The Run-off segment manages structured settlements, pension risk transfer contracts, certain company-owned life insurance policies, funding agreements, and universal life with secondary guarantees. Brighthouse Financial, Inc. was founded in 1863 and is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.