Financial Analysis: Citizens (NYSE:CIA) vs. Kinsale Capital Group (NYSE:KNSL)

Kinsale Capital Group (NYSE:KNSL) and Citizens (NYSE:CIA) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership, profitability and earnings.

Risk & Volatility

Kinsale Capital Group has a beta of 0.81, suggesting that its stock price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Citizens has a beta of 0.46, suggesting that its stock price is 54% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Kinsale Capital Group and Citizens, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Kinsale Capital Group	2	8	1	0	1.91
Citizens	0	2	2	0	2.50

Kinsale Capital Group presently has a consensus target price of $352.88, suggesting a potential downside of 11.33%. Citizens has a consensus target price of $5.50, suggesting a potential upside of 62.96%. Given Citizens’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Citizens is more favorable than Kinsale Capital Group.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Kinsale Capital Group and Citizens”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Kinsale Capital Group	$1.87 billion	4.78	$503.61 million	$22.95	17.34
Citizens	$257.24 million	0.73	$14.59 million	$0.16	21.09

Kinsale Capital Group has higher revenue and earnings than Citizens. Kinsale Capital Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Citizens, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

85.4% of Kinsale Capital Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 13.7% of Citizens shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.6% of Kinsale Capital Group shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.2% of Citizens shares are owned by 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.

Profitability

This table compares Kinsale Capital Group and Citizens’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Kinsale Capital Group	26.89%	25.73%	8.07%
Citizens	3.40%	3.31%	0.44%

Summary

Kinsale Capital Group beats Citizens on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Kinsale Capital Group

Kinsale Capital Group, Inc. is a specialty insurance company focused on the excess and surplus lines market. Through its insurance subsidiaries, the company provides coverage for commercial risks that may be difficult to place in the standard insurance market. Its products include commercial property and casualty insurance, along with specialty coverages such as professional liability, excess liability, inland marine, and environmental insurance. Kinsale serves businesses and insurance brokers across the United States.

About Citizens

Citizens, Inc. is an insurance holding company headquartered in Austin, Texas. Founded in 1969, it focuses primarily on life insurance and serves customers in the United States and international markets. In the United States, the company offers life insurance products that include coverage for final expenses and other individual needs. Internationally, it provides U.S.-dollar-denominated life insurance to policyholders living outside the country, with a presence in markets including Latin America and the Pacific Rim.