Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (AJG) Competitors

Erie Indemnity (NASDAQ:ERIE) and Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, media sentiment, profitability, risk, dividends, earnings and institutional ownership.

Which has more risk and volatility, ERIE or AJG?

Erie Indemnity has a beta of 0.35, suggesting that its stock price is 65% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a beta of 0.71, suggesting that its stock price is 29% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media favor ERIE or AJG?

In the previous week, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had 18 more articles in the media than Erie Indemnity. MarketBeat recorded 20 mentions for Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. and 2 mentions for Erie Indemnity. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s average media sentiment score of 1.24 beat Erie Indemnity's score of 0.64 indicating that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Erie Indemnity	0 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.	14 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is ERIE or AJG more profitable?

Erie Indemnity has a net margin of 15.73% compared to Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s net margin of 14.39%. Erie Indemnity's return on equity of 31.37% beat Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Erie Indemnity	15.73%	31.37%	21.53%
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.	14.39%	14.83%	3.80%

Do institutionals & insiders hold more shares of ERIE or AJG?

33.7% of Erie Indemnity shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 85.5% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. shares are held by institutional investors. 45.8% of Erie Indemnity shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.3% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Do analysts prefer ERIE or AJG?

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a consensus price target of $318.21, indicating a potential upside of 3.29%. Given Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. is more favorable than Erie Indemnity.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Erie Indemnity	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.	2 Sell rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.21

Which has preferable earnings & valuation, ERIE or AJG?

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has higher revenue and earnings than Erie Indemnity. Erie Indemnity is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., 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
Erie Indemnity	$3.80B	4.16	$600.31M	$11.75	29.10
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.	$11.40B	6.92	$1.46B	$6.91	44.58

Is ERIE or AJG a better dividend stock?

Erie Indemnity pays an annual dividend of $5.46 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. pays an annual dividend of $2.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. Erie Indemnity pays out 46.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. pays out 37.6% 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. Erie Indemnity has increased its dividend for 36 consecutive years and Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has increased its dividend for 15 consecutive years. Erie Indemnity is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. beats Erie Indemnity on 12 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.