Critical Analysis: Security National Financial (SNFCA) vs. Its Peers

Security National Financial (NASDAQ:SNFCA) is one of 311 publicly-traded companies in the “Insurance” industry, but how does it contrast to its rivals? We will compare Security National Financial to similar businesses based on the strength of its profitability, valuation, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends and risk.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

45.6% of Security National Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 55.9% of shares of all “Insurance” companies are held by institutional investors. 15.0% of Security National Financial shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 13.4% of shares of all “Insurance” companies are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Security National Financial and its rivals gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Security National Financial	$344.59 million	$32.15 million	6.73
Security National Financial Competitors	$15.27 billion	$1.70 billion	33.68

Security National Financial’s rivals have higher revenue and earnings than Security National Financial. Security National Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Risk & Volatility

Security National Financial has a beta of 0.62, meaning that its share price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Security National Financial’s rivals have a beta of -1.59, meaning that their average share price is 259% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Security National Financial and its rivals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Security National Financial	10.91%	8.21%	2.24%
Security National Financial Competitors	8.64%	-9.90%	4.10%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Security National Financial and its rivals, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Security National Financial	0	0	1	0	3.00
Security National Financial Competitors	3347	15715	16565	747	2.40

As a group, “Insurance” companies have a potential upside of 4.41%. Given Security National Financial’s rivals higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Security National Financial has less favorable growth aspects than its rivals.

Summary

Security National Financial rivals beat Security National Financial on 7 of the 13 factors compared.

Security National Financial Company Profile

Security National Financial Corporation is a diversified financial services holding company based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Founded in 1965, it operates through life insurance, cemetery and mortuary, and mortgage banking businesses. Its insurance operations offer life insurance, annuities, and related products, including coverage designed to help families plan for funeral expenses. Through its cemetery and mortuary businesses, the company provides funeral services and cemetery property. Security National’s mortgage banking operations originate and service residential mortgage loans.