Infinity Property and Casualty Corporation (NASDAQ: IPCC) and Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, risk and profitabiliy.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Infinity Property and Casualty Corporation and Safety Insurance Group’s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | EBITDA | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Infinity Property and Casualty Corporation | $1.55 billion | 0.67 | $116.87 million | $4.15 | 22.49 |
| Safety Insurance Group | $830.06 million | 1.33 | $108.63 million | $4.20 | 17.21 |
Infinity Property and Casualty Corporation has higher revenue and earnings than Safety Insurance Group. Safety Insurance Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Infinity Property and Casualty Corporation, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Volatility and Risk
Infinity Property and Casualty Corporation has a beta of 0.83, suggesting that its stock price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Safety Insurance Group has a beta of 0.77, suggesting that its stock price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Dividends
Infinity Property and Casualty Corporation pays an annual dividend of $2.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Safety Insurance Group pays an annual dividend of $2.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Infinity Property and Casualty Corporation pays out 55.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Safety Insurance Group pays out 66.7% 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. Infinity Property and Casualty Corporation has increased its dividend for 9 consecutive years.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
95.8% of Infinity Property and Casualty Corporation shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.3% of Safety Insurance Group shares are held by institutional investors. 3.3% of Infinity Property and Casualty Corporation shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.2% of Safety Insurance Group shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Infinity Property and Casualty Corporation and Safety Insurance Group, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Infinity Property and Casualty Corporation | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.50 |
| Safety Insurance Group | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
Infinity Property and Casualty Corporation currently has a consensus target price of $99.50, indicating a potential upside of 6.59%. Safety Insurance Group has a consensus target price of $60.00, indicating a potential downside of 17.01%. Given Infinity Property and Casualty Corporation’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Infinity Property and Casualty Corporation is more favorable than Safety Insurance Group.
Profitability
This table compares Infinity Property and Casualty Corporation and Safety Insurance Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Infinity Property and Casualty Corporation | 2.97% | 6.21% | 1.80% |
| Safety Insurance Group | 7.67% | 9.38% | 3.59% |
Summary
Infinity Property and Casualty Corporation beats Safety Insurance Group on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Infinity Property and Casualty Corporation
Infinity Property and Casualty Corporation is a holding company. The Company’s segments include Personal Auto, Commercial Vehicle and Classic Collector (its segments are Personal Auto and Commercial Vehicle). The Company writes personal automobile insurance with a concentration on nonstandard automobile insurance, commercial vehicle insurance and classic collector automobile insurance. The Company offers personal and commercial automobile insurance in states, including Arizona, California, Florida and Texas. Personal Automobile is its insurance product, which provides coverage to individuals for liability to others for bodily injury and property damage and for physical damage to an insured’s own vehicle from collision and various other perils. Commercial Vehicle provides coverage to businesses for liability to others for bodily injury and property damage and for physical damage to vehicles from collision. Classic Collector provides protection for classic collectible automobiles.
About Safety Insurance Group
Safety Insurance Group, Inc. is a provider of private passenger automobile insurance. The Company offers a portfolio of property and casualty insurance products. The Company is engaged in property and casualty insurance operations. The Company’s product line includes private passenger automobile, commercial automobile, homeowners, business owners’ policies, personal umbrella, dwelling fire, commercial umbrella, inland marine and watercraft. The Company operates through its insurance company subsidiaries, Safety Insurance Company, Safety Indemnity Insurance Company, and Safety Property and Casualty Insurance Company. Private passenger automobile policies provide coverage for bodily injury and property damage to others, no-fault personal injury coverage for the insured/insured’s car occupants, and physical damage coverage for an insured’s own vehicle for collision or other perils. Commercial automobile policies provide coverage for bodily injury and property damage to others.
Receive News & Ratings for Infinity Property and Casualty Corporation Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Infinity Property and Casualty Corporation and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
