Head to Head Survey: Gainsco (OTCMKTS:GANS) versus RLI (NYSE:RLI)

Gainsco (OTCMKTS:GANS) and RLI (NYSE:RLI) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, risk, profitability and institutional ownership.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Gainsco and RLI”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Gainsco	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
RLI	$1.88 billion	2.49	$403.34 million	$4.28	11.89

RLI has higher revenue and earnings than Gainsco.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

77.9% of RLI shares are owned by institutional investors. 73.5% of Gainsco shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.4% of RLI shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Gainsco and RLI, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Gainsco	0	0	0	0	0.00
RLI	0	6	0	1	2.29

RLI has a consensus price target of $61.50, suggesting a potential upside of 20.87%. Given RLI’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe RLI is more favorable than Gainsco.

Profitability

This table compares Gainsco and RLI’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Gainsco	N/A	N/A	N/A
RLI	20.81%	17.72%	5.13%

Summary

RLI beats Gainsco on 8 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Gainsco

GAINSCO, Inc. operates as a property and casualty insurance holding company. The company offers non-standard personal auto products, including coverage for third party liability, bodily injury, and physical damage, as well as collision and coverage for theft, physical damage, and other perils for an insured's vehicle. It is also involved in automotive sales and service, auto racing, and investment activities. The company offers its automobile insurance products under the GAINSCO Auto Insurance brand through independent partner agents and Website comparison shopping places. GAINSCO, Inc. was founded in 1978 and is based in Dallas, Texas.

About RLI

RLI Corp., an insurance holding company, underwrites property and casualty insurance. Its Casualty segment provides commercial and personal coverage products; and general liability products, such as coverage for third-party liability of commercial insureds, including manufacturers, contractors, apartments, and mercantile. It also offers coverages for security guards and environmental liability for underground storage tanks, contractors and asbestos, and environmental remediation specialists; and professional liability coverages for errors and omission coverage for small to medium-sized design, technical, computer, and miscellaneous professionals. This segment provides commercial automobile liability and physical damage insurance to local, intermediate and long haul truckers, public transportation entities, and other types of specialty commercial automobile risks; incidental and related insurance coverages; inland marine coverages; management liability coverages, such as directors and officers liability insurance, fiduciary liability and coverages, employment practice liability, and for various classes of risks, including public and private businesses; and home business insurance products. The company's Property segment offers commercial property, cargo, hull, protection and indemnity, marine liability, inland marine, homeowners' and dwelling fire, and other property insurance products. Its Surety segment offers commercial surety bonds for medium to large-sized businesses; small bonds for businesses and individuals; and bonds for small to medium-sized contractors. The company also engages in various reinsurance coverages. It markets its products through branch offices, wholesale and retail brokers, carrier partners, and underwriting and independent agents. RLI Corp. was incorporated in 1965 and is headquartered in Peoria, Illinois.