Analyzing Old Republic International (NYSE:ORI) and Swiss Re (OTCMKTS:SSREY)

Old Republic International (NYSE:ORI) and Swiss Re (OTCMKTS:SSREY) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, earnings and valuation.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

70.9% of Old Republic International shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.1% of Old Republic International shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk and Volatility

Old Republic International has a beta of 0.78, suggesting that its stock price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Swiss Re has a beta of 0.78, suggesting that its stock price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Old Republic International and Swiss Re’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Old Republic International	10.31%	20.95%	4.45%
Swiss Re	N/A	N/A	N/A

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Old Republic International and Swiss Re”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Old Republic International	$8.67 billion	1.16	$852.80 million	$2.92	13.90
Swiss Re	$45.60 billion	1.16	$3.24 billion	N/A	N/A

Swiss Re has higher revenue and earnings than Old Republic International.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Old Republic International and Swiss Re, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Old Republic International	0	0	2	0	3.00
Swiss Re	2	3	1	2	2.38

Old Republic International presently has a consensus target price of $43.50, suggesting a potential upside of 7.14%. Given Old Republic International’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Old Republic International is more favorable than Swiss Re.

Dividends

Old Republic International pays an annual dividend of $1.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. Swiss Re pays an annual dividend of $1.15 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Old Republic International pays out 39.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Old Republic International has raised its dividend for 45 consecutive years. Old Republic International is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Old Republic International beats Swiss Re on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Old Republic International

Old Republic International Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in the insurance underwriting and related services business primarily in the United States and Canada. It operates through three segments: General Insurance, Title Insurance, and Republic Financial Indemnity Group Run-off Business. The General Insurance segment offers aviation, commercial auto, commercial multi-peril, commercial property, general liability, home and auto warranty, inland marine, travel accident, and workers' compensation insurance products; and financial indemnity products for specialty coverages, including errors and omissions, fidelity, directors and officers, and surety. This segment provides its insurance products to businesses, state and local government, and other institutions in transportation, commercial construction, healthcare, education, retail and wholesale trade, forest products, energy, general manufacturing, and financial services industries. The Title Insurance segment offers lenders' and owners' policies to real estate purchasers and investors based upon searches of the public records. This segment also provides escrow closing and construction disbursement services; and real estate information products, national default management services, and various other services pertaining to real estate transfers and loan transactions. The Republic Financial Indemnity Group Run-off Business segment offers private mortgage insurance coverage that protects mortgage lenders and investors from default related losses on residential mortgage loans made primarily to homebuyers. Old Republic International Corporation was founded in 1923 and is based in Chicago, Illinois.

About Swiss Re

Swiss Re AG, together with its subsidiaries, provides wholesale reinsurance, insurance, other insurance-based forms of risk transfer, and other insurance-related services worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Property & Casualty Reinsurance, Life & Health Reinsurance, and Corporate Solutions. The Property & Casualty Reinsurance segment underwrites property reinsurance, including property, credit and surety, engineering, aviation, marine, agriculture, retakaful, and facultative reinsurance solutions; and casualty reinsurance, such as liability, motor, worker's compensation, personal accident, management and professional liability, cyber, and facultative reinsurance solutions. The Life & Health Reinsurance segment underwrites life and health insurance products. The Corporate Solutions segment offers standard risk transfer covers and multi-line programs to customized solutions. It serves stock and mutual insurance companies, public sector and governmental entities, mid-sized and large corporations, and individuals. The company was founded in 1863 and is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland.