Reviewing Patriot National (NYSE:PN) & Kemper Corporation (KMPR)

Kemper Corporation (NYSE: KMPR) and Patriot National (NYSE:PN) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, profitabiliy, valuation, risk, institutional ownership, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Dividends

Kemper Corporation pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Patriot National does not pay a dividend. Kemper Corporation pays out 98.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

55.2% of Kemper Corporation shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 15.7% of Patriot National shares are held by institutional investors. 0.9% of Kemper Corporation shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 59.9% of Patriot National shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Risk and Volatility

Kemper Corporation has a beta of 1.11, indicating that its stock price is 11% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Patriot National has a beta of 2.74, indicating that its stock price is 174% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Kemper Corporation and Patriot National’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Kemper Corporation	1.95%	1.26%	0.31%
Patriot National	-0.35%	7.15%	1.91%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Kemper Corporation and Patriot National’s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	EBITDA	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Kemper Corporation	$2.62 billion	0.93	$169.90 million	$0.98	48.57
Patriot National	$233.03 million	0.29	$31.71 million	($0.02)	-106.50

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Kemper Corporation and Patriot National, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Kemper Corporation	0	3	0	1	2.50
Patriot National	0	2	0	0	2.00

Kemper Corporation currently has a consensus target price of $55.00, indicating a potential upside of 15.55%. Patriot National has a consensus target price of $7.75, indicating a potential upside of 263.85%. Given Patriot National’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Patriot National is more favorable than Kemper Corporation.

Summary

Kemper Corporation beats Patriot National on 10 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

Kemper Corporation Company Profile

Kemper Corporation (Kemper) is a diversified insurance holding company. The Company, through its subsidiaries, provides automobile, homeowners, life, health and other insurance products to individuals and businesses. The Company operates through two segments: Property & Casualty Insurance, and Life & Health Insurance. The Property & Casualty Insurance segment’s products include personal automobile insurance, both preferred and nonstandard, homeowners insurance, other personal insurance and commercial automobile insurance. These products are distributed primarily through independent agents and brokers. The Life & Health Insurance segment’s products are individual life, accident, health and property insurance. These products are distributed by career agents employed by the Company and independent agents and brokers.

Patriot National Company Profile

Patriot National, Inc. is an independent national provider of technology-enabled outsourcing solutions that help insurance carriers, employers and other clients mitigate risk and comply with complex regulations. It offers a range of end-to-end insurance related and specialty services. The Company principally offers approximately two types of services: front-end services, such as brokerage, underwriting and policyholder services, and back-end services, such as claims adjudication and administration. It also offers specialty services, including technology outsourcing and other information technology (IT) services, as well as employment pre-screening and background checks. The Company’s brokerage and policyholder services include general agency services and specialty underwriting and policyholder services provided to its insurance carrier clients. The Company’s claims administration services relate to the administration and resolution of workers’ compensation claims.