Contrasting United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) and Atlas Financial (OTCMKTS:AFHIF)

Atlas Financial (OTCMKTS:AFHIF) and United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, dividends, valuation, earnings, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Atlas Financial and United Fire Group”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Atlas Financial	N/A	N/A	N/A	($0.78)	N/A
United Fire Group	$1.39 billion	0.99	$118.19 million	$4.96	10.82

United Fire Group has higher revenue and earnings than Atlas Financial. Atlas Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than United Fire Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

62.7% of United Fire Group shares are held by institutional investors. 14.4% of Atlas Financial shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 6.1% of United Fire Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Atlas Financial and United Fire Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Atlas Financial	N/A	N/A	N/A
United Fire Group	9.57%	15.39%	3.73%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Atlas Financial and United Fire Group, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Atlas Financial	0	0	0	0	0.00
United Fire Group	0	1	3	0	2.75

United Fire Group has a consensus price target of $51.00, suggesting a potential downside of 4.96%. Given Atlas Financial’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Atlas Financial is more favorable than United Fire Group.

Summary

United Fire Group beats Atlas Financial on 8 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Atlas Financial

Atlas Financial Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiary, Anchor Group Management, Inc., engages in generating, underwriting, and servicing of commercial automobile insurance in the United States. The company's automobile insurance products provide insurance coverage in three areas, including liability, accident benefits, and physical damage. It focuses on the light commercial automobile sector, including taxi cabs, non-emergency paratransit, limousine, livery, and business autos. It distributes its insurance products through a network of independent retail agents. Atlas Financial Holdings, Inc. was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Schaumburg, Illinois.

About United Fire Group

United Fire Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides property and casualty insurance for individuals and businesses in the United States. The company offers commercial and personal lines of property and casualty insurance; and reinsurance coverage for property and casualty insurance. Its commercial lines include fire and allied lines, other liability, automobile, workers’ compensation, fidelity and surety coverage, and other insurance products; and personal lines comprise automobile, and fire and allied lines coverage, including homeowners, as well as provides assumed reinsurance products. The company sells its products through a network of independent agencies. United Fire Group, Inc. was incorporated in 1946 and is headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.