Hannover Ruck (OTCMKTS:HVRRY) vs. Ryan Specialty (NYSE:RYAN) Head to Head Analysis

Hannover Ruck (OTCMKTS:HVRRY) and Ryan Specialty (NYSE:RYAN) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends and profitability.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

0.0% of Hannover Ruck shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 84.8% of Ryan Specialty shares are held by institutional investors. 52.2% of Ryan Specialty 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.

Volatility & Risk

Hannover Ruck has a beta of 0.47, suggesting that its stock price is 53% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ryan Specialty has a beta of 0.63, suggesting that its stock price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Hannover Ruck and Ryan Specialty”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Hannover Ruck	$28.55 billion	1.23	$2.52 billion	$3.76	12.89
Ryan Specialty	$2.52 billion	5.57	$94.67 million	$0.35	151.91

Hannover Ruck has higher revenue and earnings than Ryan Specialty. Hannover Ruck 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

Hannover Ruck pays an annual dividend of $0.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. Ryan Specialty pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. Hannover Ruck pays out 24.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Ryan Specialty pays out 137.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Ryan Specialty has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Hannover Ruck is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Profitability

This table compares Hannover Ruck and Ryan Specialty’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hannover Ruck	9.33%	19.77%	3.50%
Ryan Specialty	6.81%	48.70%	5.59%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Hannover Ruck and Ryan Specialty, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hannover Ruck	1	1	0	2	2.75
Ryan Specialty	0	2	10	1	2.92

Ryan Specialty has a consensus target price of $74.00, suggesting a potential upside of 39.18%. Given Ryan Specialty’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Ryan Specialty is more favorable than Hannover Ruck.

Summary

Ryan Specialty beats Hannover Ruck on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Hannover Ruck

Hannover Rück SE, together with its subsidiaries, provides reinsurance products and services in Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Europe, the United States, Asia, Australia, Africa, and internationally. It operates through Property & Casualty Reinsurance; and Life & Health Reinsurance segments. The company provides property and casualty reinsurance solutions for agricultural, livestock, and bloodstock; aviation and space; catastrophe XL; credit, surety, and political risks; facultative; and marine and offshore energy businesses, as well as insurance-linked securities and structured reinsurance. It offers risk solutions in the areas of critical illness, disability, health, longevity, long term care, and mortality. In addition, the company offers group life, retirement, lifestyle, credit life, and Takaful reinsurance products. Further, the company provides various financial solutions, including new-business financing; monetization of embedded value; reserve and solvency relief; and reinsurance and solvency II businesses. The company was formerly known as Hannover Rückversicherung AG and changed its name to Hannover Rück SE in March 2013. Hannover Rück SE was founded in 1966 and is based in Hanover, Germany. Hannover Rück SE operates as a subsidiary of Talanx AG.

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.