James River Group (NASDAQ:JRVR – Get Free Report) and Goosehead Insurance (NASDAQ:GSHD – Get Free Report) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, dividends and profitability.
Dividends
James River Group pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. Goosehead Insurance pays an annual dividend of $4.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 10.9%. James River Group pays out 5.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Goosehead Insurance pays out 442.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.
Risk & Volatility
James River Group has a beta of -0.06, suggesting that its share price is 106% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Goosehead Insurance has a beta of 1.57, suggesting that its share price is 57% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Ratings
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| James River Group | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2.20 |
| Goosehead Insurance | 0 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 2.54 |
James River Group presently has a consensus price target of $7.25, indicating a potential upside of 15.26%. Goosehead Insurance has a consensus price target of $77.60, indicating a potential upside of 84.41%. Given Goosehead Insurance’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Goosehead Insurance is more favorable than James River Group.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares James River Group and Goosehead Insurance”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| James River Group | $687.61 million | 0.42 | $47.43 million | $0.73 | 8.62 |
| Goosehead Insurance | $365.30 million | 4.21 | $27.83 million | $1.04 | 40.46 |
James River Group has higher revenue and earnings than Goosehead Insurance. James River Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Goosehead Insurance, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
95.2% of James River Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 33.8% of James River Group shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 48.3% of Goosehead Insurance shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Profitability
This table compares James River Group and Goosehead Insurance’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| James River Group | 6.90% | 12.01% | 1.23% |
| Goosehead Insurance | 7.62% | -21.31% | 7.79% |
Summary
Goosehead Insurance beats James River Group on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.
About James River Group
James River Group Holdings, Ltd., through its subsidiaries, provides specialty insurance services. It operates through Excess and Surplus Lines, and Specialty Admitted Insurance segments. The Excess and Surplus Lines segment underwrites liability and property insurance in the United States Puerto Rice, and the United States Virgin Islands. This segment distributes its insurance policies primarily through wholesale insurance brokers. The Specialty Admitted Insurance segment provides insurance for fronting, program administrators, managing general agents, and independent retail agents. James River Group Holdings, Ltd. was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in Pembroke, Bermuda.
About Goosehead Insurance
Goosehead Insurance, Inc. operates as a holding company for Goosehead Financial, LLC that engages in the provision of personal lines insurance agency services in the United States. The company offers homeowner’s, automotive, dwelling property, flood, wind, earthquake, excess liability or umbrella, motorcycle, recreational vehicle, general liability, property, and life insurance products and services. As of December 31, 2023, it operated 1,415 franchise locations. The company was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Westlake, Texas.
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