Sampo (OTCMKTS:SAXPY) and Investors Title (NASDAQ:ITIC) Head-To-Head Comparison

Sampo (OTCMKTS:SAXPY) and Investors Title (NASDAQ:ITIC) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, risk, dividends and institutional ownership.

Dividends

Sampo pays an annual dividend of $0.31 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Investors Title pays an annual dividend of $1.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Sampo pays out 30.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Investors Title pays out 10.5% 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.

Profitability

This table compares Sampo and Investors Title’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Sampo	N/A	19.63%	5.56%
Investors Title	12.28%	12.70%	9.71%

Volatility and Risk

Sampo has a beta of 0.54, suggesting that its share price is 46% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Investors Title has a beta of 0.87, suggesting that its share price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

0.0% of Sampo shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 41.4% of Investors Title shares are owned by institutional investors. 26.4% of Investors Title shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Sampo and Investors Title”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Sampo	$2.47 billion	48.93	$1.25 billion	$1.01	22.23
Investors Title	$270.09 million	1.93	$31.07 million	$17.48	15.81

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Sampo and Investors Title, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Sampo	0	1	0	1	3.00
Investors Title	0	0	1	0	3.00

Summary

Investors Title beats Sampo on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Sampo

Sampo Oyj, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of non-life insurance products and services in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, and the United Kingdom. The company operates through If, Topdanmark, Hastings, Mandatum, and Holding segments. It offers property, casualty, liability, accident, sickness, household, homeowner, motor, travel, marine, aviation, transport, forest, livestock, health, workers compensation, car, van, and bike insurance services, as well as reinsurance services. The company was founded in 1909 and is based in Helsinki, Finland.

About Investors Title

Investors Title Company engages in the issuance of residential and commercial title insurance for residential, institutional, commercial, and industrial properties. The company underwrites land title insurance for owners and mortgagees as a primary insurer; and assumes the reinsurance of title insurance risks from other title insurance companies. It offers services in connection with tax-deferred exchanges of like-kind property; acts as a qualified intermediary in tax-deferred exchanges of property; coordinates the exchange aspects of the real estate transaction, such as drafting standard exchange documents, holding the exchange funds between the sale of the old property and the purchase of the new property, and accepting the formal identification of the replacement property. In addition, it serves as an exchange accommodation titleholder for accomplishing reverse exchanges when the taxpayers decide to acquire replacement property before selling the relinquished property. Further, the company offers investment management and trust services to individuals, companies, banks, and trusts; and consulting and management services to clients to start and operate a title insurance agency. It issues title insurance policies directly and through a network of agents in 22 states and the District of Columbia, primarily in the eastern half of the United States. Investors Title Company was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.