Prudential (PRU) Competitors

Centrica (LON:CNA) and Prudential (LON:PRU) are both insurance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, media sentiment, valuation, profitability, earnings, risk, institutional ownership and analyst recommendations.

Is CNA or PRU a better dividend stock?

Centrica pays an annual dividend of GBX 0.05 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.0%. Prudential pays an annual dividend of GBX 0.23 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.0%. Centrica pays out -97.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Prudential pays out 17.6% 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. Centrica is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Is CNA or PRU more profitable?

Prudential has a net margin of 7.99% compared to Centrica's net margin of 5.39%. Centrica's return on equity of 25.16% beat Prudential's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Centrica	5.39%	25.16%	-33.70%
Prudential	7.99%	4.50%	1.23%

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in CNA or PRU?

52.5% of Centrica shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 63.3% of Prudential shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.2% of Centrica shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of Prudential shares are owned 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.

Which has more volatility & risk, CNA or PRU?

Centrica has a beta of 1.08, suggesting that its share price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Prudential has a beta of 1.2, suggesting that its share price is 20% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has preferable earnings and valuation, CNA or PRU?

Centrica has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Prudential. Centrica is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Prudential, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Centrica	£19.50B	0.41	£1.05B	-£0.05	-3,703.48
Prudential	£21.26B	1.25	£827.01M	£1.29	809.25

Does the media prefer CNA or PRU?

In the previous week, Prudential had 1 more articles in the media than Centrica. MarketBeat recorded 6 mentions for Prudential and 5 mentions for Centrica. Centrica's average media sentiment score of 0.86 beat Prudential's score of 0.43 indicating that Centrica is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Centrica	2 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Prudential	3 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Do analysts rate CNA or PRU?

Centrica currently has a consensus target price of GBX 180.80, indicating a potential upside of 6.13%. Prudential has a consensus target price of GBX 1,164.40, indicating a potential upside of 11.80%. Given Prudential's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Prudential is more favorable than Centrica.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Centrica	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.80
Prudential	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Summary

Prudential beats Centrica on 13 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.