Kingsway Financial Services (NYSE:KFS) and Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) Critical Contrast

Kingsway Financial Services (NYSE:KFS) and Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability, risk, earnings and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Kingsway Financial Services and Kemper’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Kingsway Financial Services	22.75%	-30.16%	-3.78%
Kemper	-5.50%	-2.37%	-0.46%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

72.4% of Kingsway Financial Services shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.2% of Kemper shares are held by institutional investors. 54.8% of Kingsway Financial Services shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 6.2% of Kemper shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

Kingsway Financial Services has a beta of -0.14, indicating that its share price is 114% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Kemper has a beta of 0.91, indicating that its share price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Kingsway Financial Services and Kemper, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Kingsway Financial Services	0	0	0	0	N/A
Kemper	0	0	4	1	3.20

Kemper has a consensus price target of $70.40, suggesting a potential upside of 20.32%. Given Kemper’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Kemper is more favorable than Kingsway Financial Services.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Kingsway Financial Services and Kemper’s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Kingsway Financial Services	$103.24 million	2.44	$23.56 million	N/A	N/A
Kemper	$4.94 billion	0.76	-$272.10 million	($4.25)	-13.77

Kingsway Financial Services has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Kemper.

Summary

Kemper beats Kingsway Financial Services on 8 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Kingsway Financial Services

Kingsway Financial Services Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the extended warranty and business services in the United States. The company operates through two segments, Extended Warranty and Kingsway Search Xcelerator. The Extended Warranty segment markets, sells, and administers vehicle service agreements and related products for new and used automobiles, motorcycles, and ATVs. This segment also markets and distributes warranty products to manufacturers, distributors, and installers of heating, ventilation and air conditioning, standby generator, commercial LED lighting, and commercial refrigeration equipment; and provides equipment breakdown and maintenance support services to companies, as well as after-market vehicle protection services. The Kingsway Search Xcelerator offers outsourced finance and human resources consulting services, including operational accounting, such as bookkeeping, accounting, financial reporting, and analysis and strategic finance services; technical accounting comprising initial public offerings, Securities and Exchange Commission reporting, and international consolidation services; human resources, workforce management, and compliance support services; and advisory services. This segment also provides financial executive services for project and interim staffing engagements; search services for permanent placements; healthcare staffing services to acute healthcare facilities for short-term and day-to-day needs of hospitals; software products for the management needs of all types of shared-ownership properties; and fully managed outsourced cardiac telemetry services, as well as provides mobile monitors to the hospitals. The company offers its products and services through credit unions and dealers. Kingsway Financial Services Inc. was incorporated in 1989 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

About Kemper

Kemper Corporation, a diversified insurance holding company, engages in the provision of insurance products to individuals and businesses in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Specialty Property & Casualty Insurance, Preferred Property & Casualty Insurance, and Life & Health Insurance. It provides preferred and specialty automobile, homeowners, renters, fire, umbrella, general liability, and various other property and casualty insurance to individuals, as well as commercial automobile insurance to businesses. The company also offers life insurance, including permanent and term insurance; and supplemental accident and health insurance products, such as Medicare supplement insurance, fixed hospital indemnity, home health care, specified disease, and accident-only plans to individuals in rural, suburban, and urban areas. It distributes its products through independent agents and brokers. The company was formerly known as Unitrin, Inc. and changed its name to Kemper Corporation in August 2011. Kemper Corporation was incorporated in 1990 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.