American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) & Goosehead Insurance (NASDAQ:GSHD) Head to Head Survey

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) and Goosehead Insurance (NASDAQ:GSHD) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, dividends, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares American Financial Group and Goosehead Insurance’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%
Goosehead Insurance	8.78%	-21.00%	9.43%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for American Financial Group and Goosehead Insurance, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
American Financial Group	0	3	2	0	2.40
Goosehead Insurance	2	6	6	1	2.40

American Financial Group presently has a consensus price target of $152.75, suggesting a potential downside of 1.48%. Goosehead Insurance has a consensus price target of $64.42, suggesting a potential upside of 31.86%. Given Goosehead Insurance’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Goosehead Insurance is more favorable than American Financial Group.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares American Financial Group and Goosehead Insurance”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
American Financial Group	$8.17 billion	1.57	$842.00 million	$11.44	13.55
Goosehead Insurance	$365.30 million	4.75	$27.83 million	$1.37	35.66

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

Volatility and Risk

American Financial Group has a beta of 0.55, indicating that its share price is 45% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Goosehead Insurance has a beta of 1.51, indicating that its share price is 51% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

64.4% of American Financial Group shares are held by institutional investors. 16.9% of American Financial Group shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 38.1% of Goosehead Insurance shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Goosehead Insurance beats American Financial Group on 8 of the 14 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 Goosehead Insurance

Goosehead Insurance, Inc. operates as a holding company for Goosehead Financial, LLC that engages in the provision of personal lines insurance agency services in the United States. The company offers homeowner’s, automotive, dwelling property, flood, wind, earthquake, excess liability or umbrella, motorcycle, recreational vehicle, general liability, property, and life insurance products and services. As of December 31, 2023, it operated 1,415 franchise locations. The company was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Westlake, Texas.