Critical Review: M?nchener R?ckversicherungs-Gesellschaft (OTCMKTS:MURGY) versus Crawford & Company (NYSE:CRD.B)

Crawford & Company (NYSE:CRD.B) and M?nchener R?ckversicherungs-Gesellschaft (OTCMKTS:MURGY) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, dividends, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Crawford & Company and M?nchener R?ckversicherungs-Gesellschaft”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Crawford & Company	$1.31 billion	0.42	$19.63 million	$0.54	21.17
M?nchener R?ckversicherungs-Gesellschaft	$68.33 billion	1.19	$6.92 billion	$2.51	5.15

M?nchener R?ckversicherungs-Gesellschaft has higher revenue and earnings than Crawford & Company. M?nchener R?ckversicherungs-Gesellschaft is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Crawford & Company, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Crawford & Company and M?nchener R?ckversicherungs-Gesellschaft’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Crawford & Company	2.01%	29.17%	6.80%
M?nchener R?ckversicherungs-Gesellschaft	11.49%	20.81%	2.47%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Crawford & Company and M?nchener R?ckversicherungs-Gesellschaft, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Crawford & Company	0	1	0	0	2.00
M?nchener R?ckversicherungs-Gesellschaft	1	1	1	0	2.00

Risk and Volatility

Crawford & Company has a beta of 0.69, suggesting that its share price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, M?nchener R?ckversicherungs-Gesellschaft has a beta of 0.32, suggesting that its share price is 68% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

11.0% of Crawford & Company shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.2% of M?nchener R?ckversicherungs-Gesellschaft shares are owned by institutional investors. 51.0% of Crawford & Company shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Crawford & Company pays an annual dividend of $0.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. M?nchener R?ckversicherungs-Gesellschaft pays an annual dividend of $0.34 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Crawford & Company pays out 59.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. M?nchener R?ckversicherungs-Gesellschaft pays out 13.5% 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.

About Crawford & Company

Crawford & Company (NYSE: CRD.B) is a global provider of claims management and related outsourcing services for the insurance industry. The company works with insurers, brokers, corporations and government entities to manage property and casualty claims throughout the claims life cycle. Its services include loss adjusting, claims administration, catastrophe response, third-party claims management, workers’ compensation services, medical management and related consulting and technology solutions.

About M?nchener R?ckversicherungs-Gesellschaft

Munich Re, formally Münchener Rückversicherungs-Gesellschaft, is a global reinsurance and insurance group founded in 1880 and headquartered in Munich, Germany. It provides reinsurance and related risk-management services to insurers, businesses and public-sector organizations. Its reinsurance business covers property and casualty risks as well as life and health insurance, offering products and services that help clients manage and transfer risk. The group also serves customers directly through ERGO, its primary insurance business, which offers insurance and other financial services.