Reviewing Hagerty (NYSE:HGTY) and Bowhead Specialty (NYSE:BOW)

Bowhead Specialty (NYSE:BOW) and Hagerty (NYSE:HGTY) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk and dividends.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Bowhead Specialty and Hagerty, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Bowhead Specialty	0	8	2	0	2.20
Hagerty	0	5	3	0	2.38

Bowhead Specialty presently has a consensus target price of $33.50, suggesting a potential downside of 1.74%. Hagerty has a consensus target price of $16.43, suggesting a potential downside of 8.67%. Given Bowhead Specialty’s higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Bowhead Specialty is more favorable than Hagerty.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

20.5% of Hagerty shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.2% of Bowhead Specialty shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.7% of Hagerty shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Bowhead Specialty and Hagerty”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Bowhead Specialty	$551.59 million	2.04	$53.79 million	$1.78	19.15
Hagerty	$1.46 billion	4.24	$49.02 million	$0.06	299.80

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

Risk & Volatility

Bowhead Specialty has a beta of -0.06, indicating that its stock price is 106% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hagerty has a beta of 0.83, indicating that its stock price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Bowhead Specialty and Hagerty’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Bowhead Specialty	9.32%	14.45%	2.54%
Hagerty	1.08%	6.27%	1.92%

About Bowhead Specialty

Bowhead Specialty Holdings Inc. provides specialty property and casualty insurance products in the United States. It underwrites casualty insurance solutions for risks in the construction, distribution, heavy manufacturing, real estate, and hospitality segments; professional liability insurance solutions for financial institutions, private and public directors and officers liability insurance, errors and omissions liability insurance, and cyber segments; and healthcare solutions for hospitals, senior care providers, managed care organizations, miscellaneous medical facilities, and healthcare management liability segments. The company distributes its products through distribution partners in wholesale and retail markets. Bowhead Specialty Holdings Inc. was formerly known as Bowhead Holdings Inc. and changed its name to Bowhead Specialty Holdings Inc. in March 2024. The company was founded in 2020 and is based in New York, New York. Bowhead Specialty Holdings Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Bowhead Insurance Holdings LP.

About Hagerty

Hagerty, Inc. provides insurance agency services worldwide. It offers motor vehicle and boat insurance products; and reinsurance products. The company provides Hagerty Media, which publishes contents through the Hagerty Drivers Club Magazine (HDC), video content, and social media channels; HDC that offers subscription based products and services, including HDC Magazine, automotive enthusiast events, proprietary vehicle valuation tools, emergency roadside services, and special vehicle-related discounts. In addition, it offers HVT, a valuation tool used by the customer to access current and historic pricing data of collector vehicle models. Further, the company offers Hagerty Garage + Social, a platform that provides clubhouses and car storage facilities. Hagerty, Inc. is headquartered in Traverse City, Michigan.