Contrasting Waterdrop (NYSE:WDH) & Assurant (NYSE:AIZ)

Waterdrop (NYSE:WDH) and Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and risk.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Waterdrop and Assurant”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Waterdrop	$379.74 million	1.30	$50.35 million	$0.15	9.10
Assurant	$11.88 billion	0.83	$760.20 million	$12.83	15.08

Assurant has higher revenue and earnings than Waterdrop. Waterdrop is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Assurant, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk and Volatility

Waterdrop has a beta of -0.3, meaning that its stock price is 130% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Assurant has a beta of 0.59, meaning that its stock price is 41% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Waterdrop pays an annual dividend of $0.03 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Assurant pays an annual dividend of $3.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. Waterdrop pays out 20.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Assurant pays out 24.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Assurant has increased its dividend for 21 consecutive years. Waterdrop is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

2.0% of Waterdrop shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.7% of Assurant shares are held by institutional investors. 24.6% of Waterdrop shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of Assurant shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Waterdrop and Assurant, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Waterdrop	0	0	0	0	0.00
Assurant	0	1	5	0	2.83

Assurant has a consensus target price of $228.67, suggesting a potential upside of 18.19%. Given Assurant’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Assurant is more favorable than Waterdrop.

Profitability

This table compares Waterdrop and Assurant’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Waterdrop	13.78%	8.21%	6.16%
Assurant	5.55%	15.49%	2.29%

Summary

Assurant beats Waterdrop on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Waterdrop

Waterdrop Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides online insurance brokerage services to match and connect users with related insurance products underwritten by insurance companies in the People's Republic of China. The company offers short-term health and long-term health and life insurance products and services. It also operates a medical crowdfunding platform. Waterdrop Inc. was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People's Republic of China.

About Assurant

Assurant, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides business services that supports, protects, and connects consumer purchases in North America, Latin America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates through two segments: Global Lifestyle and Global Housing. The Global Lifestyle segment offers mobile device solutions, and extended service contracts and related services for consumer electronics and appliances, and credit and other insurance products; and vehicle protection, commercial equipment, and other related services. The Global Housing segment provides lender-placed homeowners, manufactured housing, and flood insurance; renters insurance and related products; and voluntary manufactured housing, and condominium and homeowners insurance products. The company was formerly known as Fortis, Inc. and changed its name to Assurant, Inc. in February 2004. Assurant, Inc. was founded in 1892 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.