Head to Head Survey: Equitable (NYSE:EQH) versus Old Republic International (NYSE:ORI)

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) and Old Republic International (NYSE:ORI) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, institutional ownership, dividends, valuation and earnings.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Equitable and Old Republic International”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Equitable	$11.67 billion	0.99	-$1.38 billion	($4.82)	-8.50
Old Republic International	$9.14 billion	1.14	$935.40 million	$3.39	12.64

Old Republic International has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Equitable. Equitable 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.

Volatility & Risk

Equitable has a beta of 1.11, indicating that its share price is 11% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Old Republic International has a beta of 0.72, indicating that its share price is 28% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

92.7% of Equitable shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 70.9% of Old Republic International shares are held by institutional investors. 1.1% of Equitable shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.3% of Old Republic International shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Equitable and Old Republic International, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Equitable	2	0	9	2	2.85
Old Republic International	0	2	1	1	2.75

Equitable presently has a consensus target price of $56.91, suggesting a potential upside of 38.85%. Old Republic International has a consensus target price of $42.50, suggesting a potential downside of 0.83%. Given Equitable’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Equitable is more favorable than Old Republic International.

Dividends

Equitable pays an annual dividend of $1.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Old Republic International pays an annual dividend of $1.26 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. Equitable pays out -22.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Old Republic International pays out 37.2% 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. Equitable has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years and Old Republic International has raised its dividend for 45 consecutive years. Old Republic International is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Profitability

This table compares Equitable and Old Republic International’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Equitable	-11.83%	140.87%	0.58%
Old Republic International	10.24%	16.21%	3.38%

About Equitable

Equitable Holdings, Inc., together with its consolidated subsidiaries, operates as a diversified financial services company worldwide. The company operates through six segments: Individual Retirement, Group Retirement, Investment Management and Research, Protection Solutions, Wealth Management, and Legacy. The Individual Retirement segment offers a suite of variable annuity products primarily to affluent and high net worth individuals. The Group Retirement segment provides tax-deferred investment and retirement services or products to plans sponsored by educational entities, municipalities, and not-for-profit entities, as well as small and medium-sized businesses. The Investment Management and Research segment offers diversified investment management, research, and related services to various clients through institutional. The Protection Solutions segment provides life insurance products, such as VUL insurance and IUL insurance, term life, and employee benefits business, such as dental, vision, life, as well as short- and long-term disability insurance products to small and medium-sized businesses. The Wealth Management segment offers discretionary and non-discretionary investment advisory accounts, financial planning and advice, life insurance, and annuity products. The Legacy segment consists of the capital intensive fixed-rate GMxB business that includes ROP death benefits. The company was formerly known as AXA Equitable Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to Equitable Holdings, Inc. in January 2020. Equitable Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1859 and is based in New York, New York.

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.