Critical Survey: Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) versus World Access (OTCMKTS:WAXS)

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) and World Access (OTCMKTS:WAXS) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, dividends and institutional ownership.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

92.7% of Assurant shares are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of Assurant shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 16.4% of World Access shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Assurant and World Access’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Assurant	6.75%	18.61%	2.84%
World Access	N/A	N/A	N/A

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Assurant and World Access”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Assurant	$11.88 billion	1.02	$760.20 million	$16.43	14.72
World Access	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Assurant has higher revenue and earnings than World Access.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for Assurant and World Access, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Assurant	0	2	8	0	2.80
World Access	0	0	0	0	0.00

Assurant currently has a consensus target price of $252.67, suggesting a potential upside of 4.49%. Given Assurant’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Assurant is more favorable than World Access.

Summary

Assurant beats World Access on 8 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Assurant

Assurant, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides business services that supports, protects, and connects consumer purchases in North America, Latin America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates through two segments: Global Lifestyle and Global Housing. The Global Lifestyle segment offers mobile device solutions, and extended service contracts and related services for consumer electronics and appliances, and credit and other insurance products; and vehicle protection, commercial equipment, and other related services. The Global Housing segment provides lender-placed homeowners, manufactured housing, and flood insurance; renters insurance and related products; and voluntary manufactured housing, and condominium and homeowners insurance products. The company was formerly known as Fortis, Inc. and changed its name to Assurant, Inc. in February 2004. Assurant, Inc. was founded in 1892 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

About World Access

World Access, Inc. operates as a global services company providing solutions in customer care to organizations in the travel, financial, health care, and call center industries. It consists of three full service companies and three specialized services companies. World Access Service Corporation serves companies located in the US and companies that have travelers or employees visiting North America. World Access Canada serves companies located in Canada; and World Access Asia serves companies located in eastern Asia, including Japan. World Access Europe provides members of World Access with logistical and medical support throughout the region. Other companies include World Access Provider Network Services; and World Access Transport Services that manages and coordinates all medical evacuation and repatriation activities for World Access. The company is based in Atlanta, Georgia. In April 2001, the company filed voluntary petitions for Chapter 11 relief in the United States Bankruptcy Court on behalf of itself and certain of its U.S. subsidiaries.