Head to Head Survey: AXA (OTCMKTS:AXAHY) and Skyward Specialty Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SKWD)

Skyward Specialty Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SKWD) and AXA (OTCMKTS:AXAHY) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation and risk.

Risk and Volatility

Skyward Specialty Insurance Group has a beta of 0.34, meaning that its share price is 66% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, AXA has a beta of 0.6, meaning that its share price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Skyward Specialty Insurance Group and AXA”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Skyward Specialty Insurance Group	$1.42 billion	1.80	$170.03 million	$4.29	13.38
AXA	$84.92 billion	1.26	$11.08 billion	N/A	N/A

AXA has higher revenue and earnings than Skyward Specialty Insurance Group.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

94.8% of Skyward Specialty Insurance Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.1% of AXA shares are owned by institutional investors. 8.5% of Skyward Specialty Insurance Group shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Skyward Specialty Insurance Group and AXA, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Skyward Specialty Insurance Group	0	3	9	1	2.85
AXA	0	1	2	1	3.00

Skyward Specialty Insurance Group currently has a consensus target price of $68.64, indicating a potential upside of 19.58%. Given Skyward Specialty Insurance Group’s higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Skyward Specialty Insurance Group is more favorable than AXA.

Profitability

This table compares Skyward Specialty Insurance Group and AXA’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Skyward Specialty Insurance Group	10.84%	18.72%	3.68%
AXA	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

Skyward Specialty Insurance Group beats AXA on 8 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Skyward Specialty Insurance Group

Skyward Specialty Insurance Group, Inc., an insurance holding company, underwrites commercial property and casualty insurance products in the United States. It offers general liability, excess liability, professional liability, commercial auto, group accident and health, property, surety, and workers' compensation insurance products. Skyward Specialty Insurance Group, Inc. was incorporated in 2006 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

About AXA

AXA SA, through its subsidiaries, provides insurance, asset management, and banking services worldwide. The company operates through six segments: France; Europe; AXA XL; Asia, Africa & EME-LATAM; AXA Investment Managers; and Transversal & Other segments It offers life and savings insurance products, such as savings and retirement, other health, and personal protection products. The company also provides property and casualty insurance products, including car, home, and personal or professional liability to individual and business clients; international insurance for large corporate clients in Europe; and marine and aviation insurance services, as well as property and casualty reinsurance products. In addition, it offers asset management services in the areas of various asset classes, including equities, bonds, hedge funds, private equity, and real estate for the group’s insurance companies and their clients, and retail and institutional clients. Further, the company provides motor, household, property and general liability, health, term life, whole life, universal life, endowment, deferred and immediate annuities, and other investment-based products for personal/individual and commercial/ group customers. AXA SA was founded in 1852 and is headquartered in Paris, France.