Head-To-Head Contrast: Alterra Capital (ALTE) and Selective ...

Head-To-Head Contrast: Alterra Capital (ALTE) and Selective ...

Head-To-Head Contrast: Alterra Capital (ALTE) and Selective Insurance Group (SIGI) Posted by Alanna Baker | Jan 1st, 2018 Alterra Capital (NASDAQ:…

Head-To-Head Contrast: Alterra Capital (ALTE) and Selective ...

Head-To-Head Contrast: Alterra Capital (ALTE) and Selective Insurance Group (SIGI)

Posted by Alanna Baker | Jan 1st, 2018

Alterra Capital (NASDAQ: ALTE) and Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) are both mid-cap financials companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, risk, valuation, dividends, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Dividends

Selective Insurance Group pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Alterra Capital does not pay a dividend. Selective Insurance Group pays out 23.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

77.8% of Selective Insurance Group shar es are owned by institutional investors. 3.0% of Selective Insurance Group shares are owned by 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 Alterra Capital and Selective Insurance Groupâ€™s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Alterra Capital	N/A	N/A	N/A	$1.65	19.73
Selective Insurance Group	$2.28 billion	1.50	$158.49 million	$3.01	19.50

Selective Insurance Group h as higher revenue and earnings than Alterra Capital. Selective Insurance Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Alterra Capital, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Alterra Capital and Selective Insurance Group, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Alterra Capital	0	0	0	0	N/A
Selective Insurance Group	0	4	0	0	2.00

Selective Insurance Group has a consensus price target of $50.91, indicating a potential downside of 13.27%. Given Sel ective Insurance Groupâ€™s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Selective Insurance Group is more favorable than Alterra Capital.

Profitability

This table compares Alterra Capital and Selective Insurance Groupâ€™s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Alterra Capital	N/A	N/A	N/A
Selective Insurance Group	7.36%	11.00%	2.37%

Summary

Selective Insurance Group beats Alterra Capital on 9 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

Alterra Capital Company Profile

Alterra Capital Holdings Limited (Alterra) is engaged in providing diversified specialty insurance and reinsurance products to corporations, public entities and property and casualty insurers. In Bermuda, the Company conducts its insurance and reinsurance operations through Alterra Bermuda. In Europe, the Company conducts its non-Lloydâ€™s operations primarily from Dublin, Ireland through Alterra Europe. In the United States, the Companyâ€™s U.S. reinsurance operations are conducted through Alterra Re USA, a Connecticut-domiciled reinsurance company. The Companyâ€™s U.S. insurance operations are conducted through Alterra E&S. In Latin America, the Company provides reinsurance to clients through Alterra at Lloydâ€™s in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, using Lloydâ€™s admitted status, through Alterra Europe. In June 2012, the Company formed New Point V Limited. On May 1, 2013, Alterra Capital was acquired by Markel Corporation.

Selective Insurance Group Company Profile

Selective Insurance Group, Inc. is a holding company. As of December 31, 2016, the Company had 10 insurance subsidiaries, nine of which were licensed by various state departments of insurance to write specific lines of property and casualty insurance business. The remaining subsidiary is authorized by various state insurance departments to write property and casualty insurance in the excess and surplus lines (E&S) market. Its segments include Standard Commercial Lines, which consists of insurance products and services provided in the standard marketplace; Standard Personal Lines, which consist s of insurance products and services, including flood insurance coverage that it writes through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP); E&S Lines, which consists of insurance products and services provided to customers not obtaining coverage in the standard marketplace, and investment segment invests insurance premiums, as well as amounts generated through its capital management strategies.

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