Critical Analysis: The Seibels Bruce Group (OTCMKTS:SBBG) and James River Group (NASDAQ:JRVR)

The Seibels Bruce Group (OTCMKTS:SBBG) and James River Group (NASDAQ:JRVR) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, risk, institutional ownership, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends and profitability.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares The Seibels Bruce Group and James River Group’s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
The Seibels Bruce Group	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
James River Group	$812.01 million	0.40	-$107.68 million	($2.26)	-3.85

The Seibels Bruce Group has higher earnings, but lower revenue than James River Group.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
The Seibels Bruce Group	N/A	N/A	N/A
James River Group	-10.80%	13.75%	1.49%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

95.2% of James River Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 55.4% of The Seibels Bruce Group shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 15.2% of James River Group shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

The Seibels Bruce Group has a beta of 3.72, suggesting that its stock price is 272% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, James River Group has a beta of 0.18, suggesting that its stock price is 82% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for The Seibels Bruce Group and James River Group, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
The Seibels Bruce Group	0	0	0	0	N/A
James River Group	1	2	3	0	2.33

James River Group has a consensus target price of $12.33, suggesting a potential upside of 41.76%. Given James River Group’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe James River Group is more favorable than The Seibels Bruce Group.

Summary

James River Group beats The Seibels Bruce Group on 6 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About The Seibels Bruce Group

The Seibels Bruce Group, Inc. provides processing, technology, and claims solutions to the property and casualty insurance industry. The company offers processing solutions for coastal markets; business process outsourcing; claims administration solutions; information technology outsourcing; and professional services. It also provides technology solutions, such as IPX enterprise insurance suite, CPX claims management system, FNOL first notice of loss, and reinspection processing xpert solutions; and claims solutions, including third party administration, catastrophe management, first notice of loss, multi-line adjusting and examination, reinspection, and subrogation/salvage services. The company was founded in 1869 and is based in Columbia, South Carolina.

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.