National Interstate (NATL) Competitors

Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) and National Interstate (NASDAQ:NATL) are both mid-cap property & casualty insurance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, dividends, media sentiment, valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, risk and analyst recommendations.

Which has more volatility and risk, AXS or NATL?

Axis Capital has a beta of 0.83, indicating that its stock price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, National Interstate has a beta of 1.08, indicating that its stock price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts prefer AXS or NATL?

Axis Capital presently has a consensus price target of $107.75, suggesting a potential upside of 4.41%. National Interstate has a consensus price target of $42.40, suggesting a potential upside of 43.47%. Given National Interstate's higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe National Interstate is more favorable than Axis Capital.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Axis Capital	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.70
National Interstate	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.60

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of AXS or NATL?

93.4% of Axis Capital shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 88.7% of National Interstate shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.7% of Axis Capital shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of National Interstate shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Which has better valuation & earnings, AXS or NATL?

Axis Capital has higher revenue and earnings than National Interstate. National Interstate is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Axis Capital, 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
Axis Capital	$5.96B	1.36	$1.08B	$10.08	10.24
National Interstate	$4.19B	0.51	-$134M	-$1.68	-17.59

Is AXS or NATL more profitable?

Axis Capital has a net margin of 14.54% compared to National Interstate's net margin of -2.69%. National Interstate's return on equity of 59.25% beat Axis Capital's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Axis Capital	14.54%	19.01%	3.14%
National Interstate	-2.69%	59.25%	2.80%

Does the media refer more to AXS or NATL?

In the previous week, Axis Capital had 14 more articles in the media than National Interstate. MarketBeat recorded 14 mentions for Axis Capital and 0 mentions for National Interstate. Axis Capital's average media sentiment score of 0.97 beat National Interstate's score of 0.00 indicating that Axis Capital is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Overall Sentiment
Axis Capital	Positive
National Interstate	Neutral

Summary

Axis Capital beats National Interstate on 13 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.