Critical Comparison: Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHFAO) and Kansas City Life Insurance (OTCMKTS:KCLI)

Kansas City Life Insurance (OTCMKTS:KCLI) and Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHFAO) are both financial services companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, earnings, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability and dividends.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Kansas City Life Insurance and Brighthouse Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Kansas City Life Insurance	0	0	0	0	N/A
Brighthouse Financial	0	0	0	0	N/A

Dividends

Kansas City Life Insurance pays an annual dividend of $0.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Brighthouse Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.69 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.7%. Kansas City Life Insurance pays out 9.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

0.1% of Kansas City Life Insurance shares are held by institutional investors. 63.1% of Kansas City Life Insurance shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Kansas City Life Insurance and Brighthouse Financial”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Kansas City Life Insurance	$558.92 million	0.61	$54.92 million	$6.16	5.76
Brighthouse Financial	$3.81 billion	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Kansas City Life Insurance has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Brighthouse Financial.

Profitability

This table compares Kansas City Life Insurance and Brighthouse Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Kansas City Life Insurance	10.73%	10.79%	1.20%
Brighthouse Financial	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

Kansas City Life Insurance beats Brighthouse Financial on 5 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Kansas City Life Insurance

Kansas City Life Insurance Company provides insurance products and services in states and the District of Columbia. It operates through three segments: Individual Insurance, Group Insurance, and Old American. The Individual Insurance segment consists of individual insurance products for Kansas City life, Grange life, and the assumed reinsurance transactions. The Group Insurance segment sells group life, dental, vision, disability, accident, and critical illness products. The Old American segment consists of individual insurance products designed for final expense products. Kansas City Life Insurance Company was incorporated in 1895 and is based in Kansas City, Missouri.

About Brighthouse Financial

Brighthouse Financial, Inc. provides annuity and life insurance products in the United States. It operates through three segments: Annuities, Life, and Run-off. The Annuities segment consists of variable, fixed, index-linked, and income annuities for contract holders' needs for protected wealth accumulation on a tax-deferred basis, wealth transfer, and income security. The Life segment offers term, universal, whole, and variable life products for policyholders' needs for financial security and protected wealth transfer. The Run-off segment manages structured settlements, pension risk transfer contracts, certain company-owned life insurance policies, funding agreements, and universal life with secondary guarantees. Brighthouse Financial, Inc. was founded in 1863 and is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.