American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) vs. Ryan Specialty (NYSE:RYAN) Financial Comparison

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) and Ryan Specialty (NYSE:RYAN) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, risk, dividends, valuation and profitability.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

64.4% of American Financial Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 84.8% of Ryan Specialty shares are held by institutional investors. 16.9% of American Financial Group shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 52.0% of Ryan Specialty shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares American Financial Group and Ryan Specialty”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
American Financial Group	$8.17 billion	1.44	$842.00 million	$11.44	12.40
Ryan Specialty	$3.05 billion	3.20	$63.40 million	$0.72	52.97

American Financial Group has higher revenue and earnings than Ryan Specialty. American Financial Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ryan Specialty, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

American Financial Group pays an annual dividend of $3.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Ryan Specialty pays an annual dividend of $0.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. American Financial Group pays out 30.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Ryan Specialty pays out 72.2% 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. American Financial Group has increased its dividend for 19 consecutive years and Ryan Specialty has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years. American Financial Group is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for American Financial Group and Ryan Specialty, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
American Financial Group	0	3	2	0	2.40
Ryan Specialty	1	10	8	0	2.37

American Financial Group presently has a consensus price target of $156.00, indicating a potential upside of 9.95%. Ryan Specialty has a consensus price target of $53.86, indicating a potential upside of 41.23%. Given Ryan Specialty’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Ryan Specialty is more favorable than American Financial Group.

Profitability

This table compares American Financial Group and Ryan Specialty’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
American Financial Group	11.51%	20.35%	2.94%
Ryan Specialty	7.55%	43.97%	4.78%

Volatility and Risk

American Financial Group has a beta of 0.6, indicating that its stock price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ryan Specialty has a beta of 0.57, indicating that its stock price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

American Financial Group beats Ryan Specialty on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About American Financial Group

American Financial Group, Inc., an insurance holding company, provides specialty property and casualty insurance products in the United States. The company offers property and transportation insurance products, such as physical damage and liability coverage for buses and trucks, inland and ocean marine, agricultural-related products, and other commercial property and specialty transportation coverages; specialty casualty insurance, including primarily excess and surplus, executive and professional liability, general liability, umbrella and excess liability, and specialty coverage in targeted markets, as well as customized programs for small to mid-sized businesses and workers’ compensation insurance; and specialty financial insurance products comprising risk management insurance programs for lending and leasing institutions, fidelity and surety products, and trade credit insurance. It sells its property and casualty insurance products through independent insurance agents and brokers. The company was founded in 1872 and is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio.

About Ryan Specialty

Ryan Specialty Holdings, Inc. operates as a service provider of specialty products and solutions for insurance brokers, agents, and carriers in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe, and Singapore. It offers distribution, underwriting, product development, administration, and risk management services by acting as a wholesale broker and a managing underwriter. The company serves commercial, industrial, institutional, and government sectors. Ryan Specialty Holdings, Inc. was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.