Allianz (OTCMKTS:ALIZY) and Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) Head to Head Review

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

Profitability

This table compares Allianz and Assurant’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Allianz	6.48%	19.92%	1.25%
Assurant	7.60%	20.32%	3.26%

Volatility and Risk

Allianz has a beta of 0.64, meaning that its share price is 36% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Assurant has a beta of 0.56, meaning that its share price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

0.0% of Allianz shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.7% of Assurant shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.5% of Assurant shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Allianz and Assurant”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Allianz	$211.45 billion	0.80	$12.19 billion	$3.60	12.30
Assurant	$12.81 billion	0.96	$872.70 million	$19.55	12.75

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Allianz and Assurant, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Allianz	1	2	2	1	2.50
Assurant	0	1	9	0	2.90

Assurant has a consensus target price of $275.83, indicating a potential upside of 10.68%. Given Assurant’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Assurant is more favorable than Allianz.

Dividends

Allianz pays an annual dividend of $1.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Assurant pays an annual dividend of $3.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Allianz pays out 38.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Assurant pays out 18.0% 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. Assurant has increased its dividend for 21 consecutive years.

Summary

Assurant beats Allianz on 13 of the 18 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 Assurant

Assurant, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides business services that supports, protects, and connects consumer purchases in North America, Latin America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates through two segments: Global Lifestyle and Global Housing. The Global Lifestyle segment offers mobile device solutions, and extended service contracts and related services for consumer electronics and appliances, and credit and other insurance products; and vehicle protection, commercial equipment, and other related services. The Global Housing segment provides lender-placed homeowners, manufactured housing, and flood insurance; renters insurance and related products; and voluntary manufactured housing, and condominium and homeowners insurance products. The company was formerly known as Fortis, Inc. and changed its name to Assurant, Inc. in February 2004. Assurant, Inc. was founded in 1892 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.