Critical Survey: American International Group (NYSE:AIG) versus Allianz (OTCMKTS:ALIZY)

Allianz (OTCMKTS:ALIZY) and American International Group (NYSE:AIG) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, dividends, valuation, risk and institutional ownership.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Allianz and American International Group”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Allianz	$194.56 billion	0.89	$10.75 billion	$3.01	15.06
American International Group	$26.78 billion	1.61	$3.10 billion	$5.42	14.82

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

Profitability

This table compares Allianz and American International Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Allianz	5.69%	17.38%	1.06%
American International Group	11.56%	9.79%	2.48%

Dividends

Allianz pays an annual dividend of $1.18 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. American International Group pays an annual dividend of $1.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Allianz pays out 39.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. American International Group pays out 33.2% 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. American International Group has increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Allianz and American International Group, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Allianz	1	4	1	1	2.29
American International Group	0	14	7	1	2.41

American International Group has a consensus target price of $87.58, suggesting a potential upside of 9.02%. Given American International Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe American International Group is more favorable than Allianz.

Volatility and Risk

Allianz has a beta of 0.63, suggesting that its stock price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, American International Group has a beta of 0.61, suggesting that its stock price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

0.0% of Allianz shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 90.6% of American International Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.5% of American International Group shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

American International Group beats Allianz on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Allianz

Allianz SE, together with its subsidiaries, provides property-casualty insurance, life/health insurance, and asset management products and services worldwide. The company’s Property-Casualty segment offers various insurance products, including motor liability and own damage, accident, general liability, fire and property, legal expense, credit, and travel to private and corporate customers. Its Life/Health segment provides a range of life and health insurance products on an individual and a group basis, such as annuities, endowment and term insurance, and unit-linked and investment-oriented products, as well as private and supplemental health, and long-term care insurance products. The company’s Asset Management segment offers institutional and retail asset management products and services to third-party investors comprising equity and fixed income funds, and multi-assets; and alternative investment products that include real estate, infrastructure debt/equity, real assets, liquid alternatives, and solutions. Its Corporate and Other segment provides banking services for retail clients, as well as digital investment services. Allianz SE was founded in 1890 and is headquartered in Munich, Germany.

About American International Group

American International Group, Inc. offers insurance products for commercial, institutional, and individual customers in North America and internationally. It operates through three segments: General Insurance, Life and Retirement, and Other Operations. The General Insurance segment provides commercial and industrial property insurance, including business interruption and package insurance that cover exposure to made and natural disasters; general liability, environmental, commercial automobile liability, workers’ compensation, excess casualty, and crisis management insurance products; and professional liability insurance. This segment offers marine, energy-related property insurance, aviation, political risk, trade credit, trade finance, and portfolio solutions, as well as operates reinsurance business; voluntary and sponsor-paid personal accident, and supplemental health products; and personal auto and personal property insurance. Its Life and Retirement segment offers individual retirement products, including variable, fixed index, and fixed annuities, as well as retail mutual funds; group retirement products comprising record-keeping, plan administrative and compliance services, financial planning, and advisory solutions; life insurance, including term and universal life insurance; and institutional markets products, which includes wrap products, structured settlement, pension risk transfer annuities, corporate and bank-owned life insurance, high net worth, and guaranteed investment contract products. It distributes its products through a network of brokers, agents, advisors, banks, and other distributors. The company was founded in 1919 and is headquartered in New York, New York.