Critical Survey: James River Group (NASDAQ:JRVR) and Zurich Insurance Group (OTCMKTS:ZURVY)

James River Group (NASDAQ:JRVR) and Zurich Insurance Group (OTCMKTS:ZURVY) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares James River Group and Zurich Insurance Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
James River Group	4.34%	10.79%	1.13%
Zurich Insurance Group	N/A	N/A	N/A

Risk & Volatility

James River Group has a beta of -0.03, meaning that its share price is 103% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Zurich Insurance Group has a beta of 0.54, meaning that its share price is 46% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for James River Group and Zurich Insurance Group, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
James River Group	2	5	0	0	1.71
Zurich Insurance Group	1	3	0	0	1.75

James River Group presently has a consensus target price of $6.44, suggesting a potential upside of 63.39%. Given James River Group’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe James River Group is more favorable than Zurich Insurance Group.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

95.2% of James River Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.0% of Zurich Insurance Group shares are held by institutional investors. 33.8% of James River Group shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.0% of Zurich Insurance Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

James River Group pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Zurich Insurance Group pays an annual dividend of $1.23 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. James River Group pays out 11.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares James River Group and Zurich Insurance Group”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
James River Group	$687.61 million	0.26	$47.43 million	$0.34	11.59
Zurich Insurance Group	$62.95 billion	1.73	$6.80 billion	N/A	N/A

Zurich Insurance Group has higher revenue and earnings than James River Group.

Summary

Zurich Insurance Group beats James River Group on 7 of the 13 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 Zurich Insurance Group

Zurich Insurance Group AG, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance products and related services in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, North America, Latin America, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates through Property & Casualty Regions, Life Regions, Farmers, Group Functions and Operations, and Non-Core Businesses segments. It offers car and motor, home, travel, general liability, life and critical illness, and other insurance products; and saving and investment, and pension and retirement planning products. The company also provides property, casualty, energy and engineering lines, and marine; commercial management liability, financial institutions, and professional indemnity; and cyber, accident and health, and credit lines and surety insurance products, as well as and non-claims and ancillary services to the farmers exchanges. In addition, it offers employee benefit insurance products; and climate resilience, risk engineering, captive, and cyber resilience, as well as climate risk assessment and reinsurance services. The company serves individuals, small businesses, and mid-sized and large companies, as well as multinational corporations. It sells its products through agents, brokers, and bank distribution channels. Zurich Insurance Group AG was founded in 1872 and is based in Zurich, Switzerland.