Head to Head Review: International General Insurance (NASDAQ:IGIC) versus CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO)

International General Insurance (NASDAQ:IGIC) and CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, dividends, risk, profitability, earnings and institutional ownership.

Dividends

International General Insurance pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. CNO Financial Group pays an annual dividend of $0.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. International General Insurance pays out 7.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. CNO Financial Group pays out 23.8% 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. International General Insurance has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years and CNO Financial Group has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares International General Insurance and CNO Financial Group”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
International General Insurance	$524.05 million	2.11	$135.15 million	$2.76	8.97
CNO Financial Group	$4.44 billion	0.87	$404.00 million	$2.86	14.22

CNO Financial Group has higher revenue and earnings than International General Insurance. International General Insurance is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than CNO Financial Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares International General Insurance and CNO Financial Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
International General Insurance	23.76%	18.36%	5.82%
CNO Financial Group	6.64%	15.81%	1.06%

Risk and Volatility

International General Insurance has a beta of 0.16, indicating that its stock price is 84% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, CNO Financial Group has a beta of 0.85, indicating that its stock price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

54.2% of International General Insurance shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 95.4% of CNO Financial Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 20.1% of International General Insurance shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 3.0% of CNO Financial Group shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for International General Insurance and CNO Financial Group, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
International General Insurance	0	0	3	0	3.00
CNO Financial Group	0	1	4	0	2.80

International General Insurance presently has a consensus target price of $30.00, suggesting a potential upside of 21.11%. CNO Financial Group has a consensus target price of $46.75, suggesting a potential upside of 14.98%. Given International General Insurance’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe International General Insurance is more favorable than CNO Financial Group.

About International General Insurance

International General Insurance Holdings Ltd. engages in the provision of specialty insurance and reinsurance solutions worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Specialty Long-tail, Specialty Short-tail, and Reinsurance. It is involved in underwriting a portfolio of specialty risks, including energy, property, construction and engineering, ports and terminals, general aviation, political violence, professional lines, financial institutions, motor, marine liability, contingency, marine, treaty, and casualty insurance and reinsurance. The company was founded in 2001 and is based in Amman, Jordan.

About CNO Financial Group

CNO Financial Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, develops, markets, and administers health insurance, annuity, individual life insurance, insurance products, and financial services for senior and middle-income markets in the United States. It offers Medicare supplement, supplemental health, and long-term care insurance policies; life insurance; and annuities, as well as Medicare advantage plans to individuals through phone, online, mail, and face-to-face. The company also focuses on sale of voluntary benefit life and health insurance products for businesses, associations, and other membership groups by interacting with customers at their place of employment. In addition, it provides fixed indexed annuities; fixed interest annuities, including fixed rate single and flexible premium deferred annuities; single premium immediate annuities; supplemental health products, such as specified disease, accident, and hospital indemnity products; and long-term care plans primarily to retirees and older self-employed individuals in the middle-income market. Further, the company offers universal life and other interest-sensitive life products; and traditional life policies that include whole life, graded benefit life, term life, and single premium whole life products, as well as graded benefit life insurance products. It markets its products under the Bankers Life, Washington National, and Colonial Penn brand names. The company was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Carmel, Indiana.