Head to Head Comparison: MBIA (NYSE:MBI) and White Mountains Insurance Group (NYSE:WTM)

MBIA (NYSE:MBI) and White Mountains Insurance Group (NYSE:WTM) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, dividends, risk, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares MBIA and White Mountains Insurance Group”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
MBIA	$80.00 million	3.04	-$177.00 million	($3.21)	-1.48
White Mountains Insurance Group	$2.76 billion	1.98	$1.11 billion	$377.51	6.05

White Mountains Insurance Group has higher revenue and earnings than MBIA. MBIA is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than White Mountains Insurance Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk & Volatility

MBIA has a beta of 1.7, suggesting that its stock price is 70% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, White Mountains Insurance Group has a beta of 0.28, suggesting that its stock price is 72% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for MBIA and White Mountains Insurance Group, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
MBIA	1	0	1	0	2.00
White Mountains Insurance Group	0	1	1	0	2.50

MBIA presently has a consensus target price of $7.00, suggesting a potential upside of 46.90%. Given MBIA’s higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe MBIA is more favorable than White Mountains Insurance Group.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

61.0% of MBIA shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 88.7% of White Mountains Insurance Group shares are held by institutional investors. 11.3% of MBIA shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.0% of White Mountains Insurance Group shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares MBIA and White Mountains Insurance Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
MBIA	-153.33%	N/A	-1.54%
White Mountains Insurance Group	26.86%	3.33%	1.55%

Summary

White Mountains Insurance Group beats MBIA on 9 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About MBIA

MBIA Inc. (NYSE: MBI) is a financial services holding company that provides financial guarantee insurance through its operating subsidiaries. Its guarantees are designed to support the payment of scheduled principal and interest on insured obligations, primarily by enhancing the credit quality of bonds and other debt securities. MBIA’s principal businesses have historically included public finance insurance and structured finance activities. National Public Finance Guarantee Corporation provides insurance for U.S. municipal bonds and other public finance obligations, while MBIA Insurance Corporation has primarily managed a legacy portfolio of structured finance and asset-backed financial guarantees.

About White Mountains Insurance Group

White Mountains Insurance Group is a holding company focused on property and casualty insurance, reinsurance and related financial services. Rather than operating as a single insurer, it owns and invests in businesses with distinct specialties. Its businesses include Ark, a global specialty insurance and reinsurance group; HG Global, which provides financial backing for municipal bond insurance through Build America Mutual; and Kudu, which offers permanent capital solutions to asset and wealth management firms.