Comparing Old Republic International (NYSE:ORI) & Ping An Insurance Co. of China (OTCMKTS:PNGAY)

Old Republic International (NYSE:ORI) and Ping An Insurance Co. of China (OTCMKTS:PNGAY) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, institutional ownership, valuation, risk, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Dividends

Old Republic International pays an annual dividend of $1.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. Ping An Insurance Co. of China pays an annual dividend of $0.43 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Old Republic International pays out 39.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Ping An Insurance Co. of China pays out 23.5% 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. Old Republic International has raised its dividend for 45 consecutive years. Ping An Insurance Co. of China is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Volatility and Risk

Old Republic International has a beta of 0.78, suggesting that its share price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ping An Insurance Co. of China has a beta of 0.36, suggesting that its share price is 64% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Old Republic International and Ping An Insurance Co. of China, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Old Republic International	0	0	2	0	3.00
Ping An Insurance Co. of China	0	1	0	0	2.00

Old Republic International currently has a consensus target price of $43.50, suggesting a potential upside of 9.32%. Given Old Republic International’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Old Republic International is more favorable than Ping An Insurance Co. of China.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

70.9% of Old Republic International shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.0% of Ping An Insurance Co. of China shares are held by institutional investors. 1.1% of Old Republic International shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Ping An Insurance Co. of China shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Old Republic International and Ping An Insurance Co. of China”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Old Republic International	$8.23 billion	1.20	$852.80 million	$2.92	13.63
Ping An Insurance Co. of China	$158.77 billion	0.79	$17.61 billion	$1.83	7.55

Ping An Insurance Co. of China has higher revenue and earnings than Old Republic International. Ping An Insurance Co. of China is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Old Republic International, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Old Republic International and Ping An Insurance Co. of China’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Old Republic International	10.31%	20.95%	4.45%
Ping An Insurance Co. of China	10.59%	9.12%	0.92%

Summary

Old Republic International beats Ping An Insurance Co. of China on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Old Republic International

Old Republic International Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in the insurance underwriting and related services business primarily in the United States and Canada. It operates through three segments: General Insurance, Title Insurance, and Republic Financial Indemnity Group Run-off Business. The General Insurance segment offers aviation, commercial auto, commercial multi-peril, commercial property, general liability, home and auto warranty, inland marine, travel accident, and workers' compensation insurance products; and financial indemnity products for specialty coverages, including errors and omissions, fidelity, directors and officers, and surety. This segment provides its insurance products to businesses, state and local government, and other institutions in transportation, commercial construction, healthcare, education, retail and wholesale trade, forest products, energy, general manufacturing, and financial services industries. The Title Insurance segment offers lenders' and owners' policies to real estate purchasers and investors based upon searches of the public records. This segment also provides escrow closing and construction disbursement services; and real estate information products, national default management services, and various other services pertaining to real estate transfers and loan transactions. The Republic Financial Indemnity Group Run-off Business segment offers private mortgage insurance coverage that protects mortgage lenders and investors from default related losses on residential mortgage loans made primarily to homebuyers. Old Republic International Corporation was founded in 1923 and is based in Chicago, Illinois.

About Ping An Insurance Co. of China

Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd. provides financial products and services for insurance, banking, asset management, and technology businesses in the People's Republic of China. The company operates through Life and Health Insurance; Property and Casualty Insurance; Banking; Asset Management; and Technology segments. Its Life and Health Insurance segment offers term, whole-life, endowment, annuity, investment-linked, universal life, and health care and medical insurance to individual and corporate customers. The company's Property and Casualty Insurance segment provides auto, non-auto, and accident and health insurance to individual and corporate customers. Its Banking segment undertakes loan and intermediary businesses with corporate and retail customers; and offers wealth management and credit card services to individual customers. The company's Asset Management segment provides trust products services, brokerage services, trading services, investment banking services, investment management, finance lease, and other asset management services. Its Technology segment offers financial and daily-life services through internet platforms, such as financial transaction information service, and health care service platforms. The company also provides annuity insurance, IT and business process outsourcing, real estate investment and management, futures brokerage, project investment, currency brokerage, property agency, fund raising and distribution, real estate development and leasing, and insurance agency services. In addition, it provides factoring, equity investment, logistics and warehousing, management consulting, e-commerce, and credit information services; and operates an expressway, as well as produces and sells consumer chemicals. The company was incorporated in 1988 and is based in Shenzhen, China.