Platinum Underwriters Holdings (NYSE: PTP) and RenaissanceRe Holdings (NYSE:RNR) are both financials companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, profitabiliy, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings and institutional ownership.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
92.9% of RenaissanceRe Holdings shares are held by institutional investors. 1.8% of RenaissanceRe Holdings shares are held by company 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.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Platinum Underwriters Holdings and RenaissanceRe Holdings’ top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | EBITDA | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Platinum Underwriters Holdings | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| RenaissanceRe Holdings | $1.76 billion | 3.26 | $672.58 million | $10.72 | 13.16 |
RenaissanceRe Holdings has higher revenue and earnings than Platinum Underwriters Holdings.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Platinum Underwriters Holdings and RenaissanceRe Holdings, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Platinum Underwriters Holdings | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A |
| RenaissanceRe Holdings | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
RenaissanceRe Holdings has a consensus target price of $140.16, indicating a potential downside of 0.68%. Given RenaissanceRe Holdings’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe RenaissanceRe Holdings is more favorable than Platinum Underwriters Holdings.
Profitability
This table compares Platinum Underwriters Holdings and RenaissanceRe Holdings’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Platinum Underwriters Holdings | 24.85% | 8.33% | 3.89% |
| RenaissanceRe Holdings | 26.68% | 7.55% | 2.62% |
Dividends
RenaissanceRe Holdings pays an annual dividend of $1.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. Platinum Underwriters Holdings does not pay a dividend. RenaissanceRe Holdings pays out 11.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. RenaissanceRe Holdings has raised its dividend for 12 consecutive years.
Summary
RenaissanceRe Holdings beats Platinum Underwriters Holdings on 7 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.
Platinum Underwriters Holdings Company Profile
Platinum Underwriters Holdings, Ltd. (Platinum Holdings) is a holding company. Through its reinsurance subsidiaries the Company provides property and marine, casualty and finite risk reinsurance coverage to a diverse clientele of insurers and select reinsurers on a worldwide basis. The Company operates through two licensed reinsurance subsidiaries: Platinum Underwriters Bermuda, Ltd. (Platinum Bermuda), a Bermuda reinsurance company, and Platinum Underwriters Reinsurance, Inc. (Platinum US), a United States reinsurance company. Platinum Bermuda is a wholly owned subsidiary of Platinum Holdings and Platinum US is a wholly owned subsidiary of Platinum Finance. The Company operates in three segments: Property and Marine, Casualty and Finite Risk. The Property and Marine provides insurance coverage against loss of property. Casualty provides coverage for loss or damage to persons or property. The Finite Risk offers non-traditional reinsurance.
RenaissanceRe Holdings Company Profile
RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. provides reinsurance and insurance coverages and related services to a range of customers. The Company’s products include property, casualty and specialty reinsurance and certain insurance products principally distributed through intermediaries. Its segments include Property; Casualty and Specialty, and Other category. The Property segment consisted of catastrophe and other property reinsurance and insurance written on behalf of its operating subsidiaries and certain joint ventures managed by its ventures unit. The Casualty and Specialty segment consisted of casualty and specialty reinsurance and insurance written on behalf of its operating subsidiaries and certain joint ventures managed by its ventures unit. Its Other category includes its strategic investments, investments unit, corporate expenses, capital servicing. The Casualty and Specialty segment offers certain casualty insurance products through RenaissanceRe Syndicate 1458 (Syndicate 1458).
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