American Financial Group (AFG) Competitors

The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) and American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends, media sentiment, analyst recommendations and risk.

Does the media prefer HIG or AFG?

In the previous week, The Hartford Insurance Group had 4 more articles in the media than American Financial Group. MarketBeat recorded 14 mentions for The Hartford Insurance Group and 10 mentions for American Financial Group. American Financial Group's average media sentiment score of 1.30 beat The Hartford Insurance Group's score of 1.26 indicating that American Financial Group is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
The Hartford Insurance Group	11 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
American Financial Group	7 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts prefer HIG or AFG?

The Hartford Insurance Group presently has a consensus price target of $132.58, indicating a potential upside of 7.88%. American Financial Group has a consensus price target of $139.33, indicating a potential upside of 11.25%. Given American Financial Group's higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe American Financial Group is more favorable than The Hartford Insurance Group.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
The Hartford Insurance Group	0 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.62
American Financial Group	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Which has better valuation & earnings, HIG or AFG?

The Hartford Insurance Group has higher revenue and earnings than American Financial Group. The Hartford Insurance Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than American Financial Group, 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
The Hartford Insurance Group	$26.54B	1.32	$3.11B	$10.03	12.25
American Financial Group	$8.32B	1.26	$887M	$9.52	13.16

Which has more volatility and risk, HIG or AFG?

The Hartford Insurance Group has a beta of 0.69, indicating that its stock price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, American Financial Group has a beta of 0.71, indicating that its stock price is 29% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of HIG or AFG?

93.4% of The Hartford Insurance Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 64.4% of American Financial Group shares are held by institutional investors. 1.5% of The Hartford Insurance Group shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 17.4% of American Financial Group shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Is HIG or AFG a better dividend stock?

The Hartford Insurance Group pays an annual dividend of $2.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. American Financial Group pays an annual dividend of $3.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. The Hartford Insurance Group pays out 20.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. American Financial Group pays out 33.6% 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. The Hartford Insurance Group has raised its dividend for 12 consecutive years and American Financial Group has raised its dividend for 19 consecutive years. American Financial Group is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Is HIG or AFG more profitable?

The Hartford Insurance Group has a net margin of 11.10% compared to American Financial Group's net margin of 9.66%. The Hartford Insurance Group's return on equity of 18.73% beat American Financial Group's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
The Hartford Insurance Group	11.10%	18.73%	3.74%
American Financial Group	9.66%	18.34%	2.66%

Summary

The Hartford Insurance Group beats American Financial Group on 13 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.