Prudential (PRU) Competitors

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

Does the media prefer PRU or CNA?

In the previous week, Centrica had 1 more articles in the media than Prudential. MarketBeat recorded 15 mentions for Centrica and 14 mentions for Prudential. Centrica's average media sentiment score of 1.01 beat Prudential's score of 0.37 indicating that Centrica is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Prudential	4 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	7 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Centrica	7 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is PRU or CNA 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
Prudential	7.99%	4.50%	1.23%
Centrica	5.39%	25.16%	-33.70%

Do analysts prefer PRU or CNA?

Prudential currently has a consensus target price of GBX 1,189.40, suggesting a potential upside of 19.97%. Centrica has a consensus target price of GBX 185.67, suggesting a potential upside of 6.55%. Given Prudential's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Prudential is more favorable than Centrica.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Prudential	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
Centrica	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.83

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

63.3% of Prudential shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 52.5% of Centrica shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.5% of Prudential shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Centrica shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Is PRU or CNA a better dividend stock?

Prudential pays an annual dividend of GBX 0.23 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.0%. Centrica pays an annual dividend of GBX 0.05 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.0%. Prudential pays out 17.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Centrica pays out -97.8% 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.

Which has preferable earnings and valuation, PRU or CNA?

Centrica has lower revenue, but higher earnings 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
Prudential	£21.26B	1.19	£827.01M	£1.29	770.32
Centrica	£19.50B	0.42	£1.05B	-£0.05	-3,788.04

Which has more risk & volatility, PRU or CNA?

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

Summary

Prudential beats Centrica on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.