Analyzing Octave Specialty Group (NYSE:OSG) and Swiss Re (OTCMKTS:SSREF)

Swiss Re (OTCMKTS:SSREF) and Octave Specialty Group (NYSE:OSG) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, risk, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Swiss Re and Octave Specialty Group, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Swiss Re	0	0	0	0	0.00
Octave Specialty Group	1	2	1	0	2.00

Octave Specialty Group has a consensus price target of $15.00, indicating a potential upside of 205.37%. Given Octave Specialty Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Octave Specialty Group is more favorable than Swiss Re.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

24.3% of Swiss Re shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 80.9% of Octave Specialty Group shares are held by institutional investors. 7.2% of Octave Specialty Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Swiss Re and Octave Specialty Group”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Swiss Re	N/A	N/A	N/A	$11.77	14.06
Octave Specialty Group	$251.22 million	0.88	-$261.69 million	($4.86)	-1.01

Swiss Re has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Octave Specialty Group. Octave Specialty Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Swiss Re, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Swiss Re and Octave Specialty Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Swiss Re	N/A	N/A	N/A
Octave Specialty Group	-51.10%	0.43%	0.17%

Summary

Octave Specialty Group beats Swiss Re on 8 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Swiss Re

Swiss Re AG, together with its subsidiaries, provides wholesale reinsurance, insurance, other insurance-based forms of risk transfer, and other insurance-related services worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Property & Casualty Reinsurance, Life & Health Reinsurance, and Corporate Solutions. The Property & Casualty Reinsurance segment underwrites property reinsurance, including property, credit and surety, engineering, aviation, marine, agriculture, retakaful, and facultative reinsurance solutions; and casualty reinsurance, such as liability, motor, worker’s compensation, personal accident, management and professional liability, cyber, and facultative reinsurance solutions. The Life & Health Reinsurance segment underwrites life and health insurance products. The Corporate Solutions segment offers standard risk transfer covers and multi-line programs to customized solutions. It serves stock and mutual insurance companies, public sector and governmental entities, mid-sized and large corporations, and individuals. The company was founded in 1863 and is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland.

About Octave Specialty Group

Ambac Financial Group, Inc. operates as a financial services holding company. It operates three businesses: Specialty Property and Casualty Insurance, Insurance Distribution, and Legacy Financial Guarantee (LFG) Insurance. The Specialty Property and Casualty Insurance business provides specialty property and casualty program insurance with a focus commercial and personal liability risks. The Insurance Distribution business includes the specialty property and casualty insurance distribution business, which includes managing general agents and underwriters, insurance wholesalers, brokers, and other distribution businesses. The LFG Insurance business offers financial guarantee insurance policies that provide an unconditional and irrevocable guarantee, which protects the holder of a debt obligation against non-payment when due of the principal and interest on the obligations guaranteed. Ambac Financial Group, Inc. was incorporated in 1991 and is headquartered in New York, New York.