Reviewing Aegon (NYSE:AEG) & Kemper (NYSE:KMPR)

Aegon (NYSE:AEG) and Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability, risk and earnings.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Aegon and Kemper”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Aegon	$10.65 billion	1.40	$744.48 million	$0.96	7.77
Kemper	$4.77 billion	0.71	$317.80 million	$5.31	10.13

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

Dividends

Aegon pays an annual dividend of $0.37 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.0%. Kemper pays an annual dividend of $1.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. Aegon pays out 38.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Kemper pays out 24.1% 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. Kemper has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

4.3% of Aegon shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.2% of Kemper shares are held by institutional investors. 6.2% of Kemper shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk and Volatility

Aegon has a beta of 0.94, suggesting that its share price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Kemper has a beta of 1.27, suggesting that its share price is 27% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Aegon and Kemper’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Aegon	N/A	N/A	N/A
Kemper	7.18%	14.39%	3.25%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Aegon and Kemper, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Aegon	0	0	3	1	3.25
Kemper	2	0	3	1	2.50

Kemper has a consensus price target of $72.75, suggesting a potential upside of 35.26%. Given Kemper’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Kemper is more favorable than Aegon.

Summary

Kemper beats Aegon on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Aegon

Aegon Ltd. provides insurance, pensions, retirement, and asset management services in the United States, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company offers life, accident, property and casualty, and health insurance; annuities, retirement plans, mutual funds, and stable value solutions; residential mortgage and digital baking services; and retail and institutional investment management solutions and retirement savings vehicles and strategies. It offers its products under the Aegon and Transamerica brands. Aegon Ltd. was founded in 1844 and is headquartered in The Hague, the Netherlands.

About Kemper

Kemper Corporation, a diversified insurance holding company, engages in the provision of insurance products to individuals and businesses in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Specialty Property & Casualty Insurance, Preferred Property & Casualty Insurance, and Life & Health Insurance. It provides preferred and specialty automobile, homeowners, renters, fire, umbrella, general liability, and various other property and casualty insurance to individuals, as well as commercial automobile insurance to businesses. The company also offers life insurance, including permanent and term insurance; and supplemental accident and health insurance products, such as Medicare supplement insurance, fixed hospital indemnity, home health care, specified disease, and accident-only plans to individuals in rural, suburban, and urban areas. It distributes its products through independent agents and brokers. The company was formerly known as Unitrin, Inc. and changed its name to Kemper Corporation in August 2011. Kemper Corporation was incorporated in 1990 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.