Reviewing James River Group (NASDAQ:JRVR) and Equitable (NYSE:EQH)

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) and James River Group (NASDAQ:JRVR) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings and risk.

Dividends

Equitable pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. James River Group pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Equitable pays out -42.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. James River Group pays out 11.8% 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. Equitable has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Equitable is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Equitable and James River Group, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Equitable	2	0	9	2	2.85
James River Group	2	5	0	0	1.71

Equitable currently has a consensus price target of $58.64, suggesting a potential upside of 35.24%. James River Group has a consensus price target of $6.44, suggesting a potential upside of 54.56%. Given James River Group’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe James River Group is more favorable than Equitable.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Equitable	-7.26%	232.29%	0.58%
James River Group	4.34%	10.79%	1.13%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Equitable and James River Group”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Equitable	$11.67 billion	1.05	-$1.38 billion	($2.84)	-15.27
James River Group	$687.61 million	0.28	$47.43 million	$0.34	12.25

James River Group has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Equitable. Equitable is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than James River Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

92.7% of Equitable shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 95.2% of James River Group shares are held by institutional investors. 1.1% of Equitable shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 33.8% of James River Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

Equitable has a beta of 1.1, meaning that its stock price is 10% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, James River Group has a beta of -0.16, meaning that its stock price is 116% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Equitable beats James River Group on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Equitable

Equitable Holdings, Inc., together with its consolidated subsidiaries, operates as a diversified financial services company worldwide. The company operates through six segments: Individual Retirement, Group Retirement, Investment Management and Research, Protection Solutions, Wealth Management, and Legacy. The Individual Retirement segment offers a suite of variable annuity products primarily to affluent and high net worth individuals. The Group Retirement segment provides tax-deferred investment and retirement services or products to plans sponsored by educational entities, municipalities, and not-for-profit entities, as well as small and medium-sized businesses. The Investment Management and Research segment offers diversified investment management, research, and related services to various clients through institutional. The Protection Solutions segment provides life insurance products, such as VUL insurance and IUL insurance, term life, and employee benefits business, such as dental, vision, life, as well as short- and long-term disability insurance products to small and medium-sized businesses. The Wealth Management segment offers discretionary and non-discretionary investment advisory accounts, financial planning and advice, life insurance, and annuity products. The Legacy segment consists of the capital intensive fixed-rate GMxB business that includes ROP death benefits. The company was formerly known as AXA Equitable Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to Equitable Holdings, Inc. in January 2020. Equitable Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1859 and is based in New York, New York.

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.