Head-To-Head Contrast: World Access (OTCMKTS:WAXS) vs. James River Group (NASDAQ:JRVR)

World Access (OTCMKTS:WAXS) and James River Group (NASDAQ:JRVR) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership, dividends, valuation and risk.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares World Access and James River Group”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
World Access	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
James River Group	$707.63 million	0.41	-$81.12 million	($2.08)	-3.06

World Access has higher earnings, but lower revenue than James River Group.

Profitability

This table compares World Access and James River Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
World Access	N/A	N/A	N/A
James River Group	-7.64%	7.11%	0.69%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for World Access and James River Group, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
World Access	0	0	0	0	0.00
James River Group	1	4	1	1	2.29

James River Group has a consensus price target of $6.40, suggesting a potential upside of 0.63%. Given James River Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe James River Group is more favorable than World Access.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

95.2% of James River Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 16.4% of World Access shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 33.8% of James River Group shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

James River Group beats World Access on 9 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About World Access

World Access, Inc. operates as a global services company providing solutions in customer care to organizations in the travel, financial, health care, and call center industries. It consists of three full service companies and three specialized services companies. World Access Service Corporation serves companies located in the US and companies that have travelers or employees visiting North America. World Access Canada serves companies located in Canada; and World Access Asia serves companies located in eastern Asia, including Japan. World Access Europe provides members of World Access with logistical and medical support throughout the region. Other companies include World Access Provider Network Services; and World Access Transport Services that manages and coordinates all medical evacuation and repatriation activities for World Access. The company is based in Atlanta, Georgia. In April 2001, the company filed voluntary petitions for Chapter 11 relief in the United States Bankruptcy Court on behalf of itself and certain of its U.S. subsidiaries.

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.