Critical Analysis: Investors Title (NASDAQ:ITIC) versus American Coastal Insurance (NASDAQ:ACIC)

Investors Title (NASDAQ:ITIC) and American Coastal Insurance (NASDAQ:ACIC) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, profitability, risk and dividends.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Investors Title and American Coastal Insurance”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Investors Title	$273.87 million	1.89	$31.07 million	$19.01	14.41
American Coastal Insurance	$296.66 million	1.91	$75.72 million	$1.71	6.81

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Investors Title and American Coastal Insurance, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Investors Title	0	0	1	0	3.00
American Coastal Insurance	0	1	0	0	2.00

Insider and Institutional Ownership

41.4% of Investors Title shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 22.1% of American Coastal Insurance shares are held by institutional investors. 26.4% of Investors Title shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 49.9% of American Coastal Insurance 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.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Investors Title	12.28%	12.70%	9.71%
American Coastal Insurance	25.95%	30.06%	6.84%

Volatility and Risk

Investors Title has a beta of 0.87, indicating that its share price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, American Coastal Insurance has a beta of -0.49, indicating that its share price is 149% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Investors Title beats American Coastal Insurance on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About American Coastal Insurance

American Coastal Insurance Corporation operates as a property and casualty insurance holding company that sources, writes, and services residential personal and commercial property, and casualty insurance policies in the United States. The company offers structure, content, and liability coverage for standard single-family homeowners, renters, and condominium unit owners. It also provides commercial multi-peril property insurance for residential condominium associations and apartments, as well as loss or damage to buildings, inventory, and equipment caused by fire, wind, hail, water, theft, and vandalism. In addition, the company offers equipment breakdown, identity theft, cyber security, and flood policies. The company markets and distributes its products through a network of independent agencies. The company was formerly known as United Insurance Holdings Corp. and changed its name to American Coastal Insurance Corporation in August 2023. American Coastal Insurance Corporation was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Saint Petersburg, Florida.