Intact Financial (IFC) Competitors

Fairfax Financial (TSE:FFH) and Intact Financial (TSE:IFC) are both large-cap financial services companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, media sentiment, institutional ownership, risk and earnings.

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in FFH or IFC?

38.0% of Fairfax Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 53.7% of Intact Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.8% of Fairfax Financial shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Intact Financial shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Which has more risk & volatility, FFH or IFC?

Fairfax Financial has a beta of 0.83, meaning that its stock price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Intact Financial has a beta of 0.57, meaning that its stock price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media favor FFH or IFC?

In the previous week, Fairfax Financial had 7 more articles in the media than Intact Financial. MarketBeat recorded 11 mentions for Fairfax Financial and 4 mentions for Intact Financial. Intact Financial's average media sentiment score of 0.93 beat Fairfax Financial's score of 0.79 indicating that Intact Financial is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Fairfax Financial	3 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Intact Financial	1 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is FFH or IFC more profitable?

Fairfax Financial has a net margin of 13.90% compared to Intact Financial's net margin of 8.60%. Fairfax Financial's return on equity of 17.43% beat Intact Financial's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Fairfax Financial	13.90%	17.43%	4.27%
Intact Financial	8.60%	13.13%	3.55%

Which has stronger valuation & earnings, FFH or IFC?

Fairfax Financial has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Intact Financial. Fairfax Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Intact Financial, 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
Fairfax Financial	C$21.14B	1.87	C$2.94B	C$261.16	9.45
Intact Financial	C$26.64B	2.07	C$2.29B	C$12.91	23.95

Do analysts rate FFH or IFC?

Fairfax Financial presently has a consensus price target of C$2,621.43, suggesting a potential upside of 6.27%. Intact Financial has a consensus price target of C$314.36, suggesting a potential upside of 1.61%. Given Fairfax Financial's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Fairfax Financial is more favorable than Intact Financial.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Fairfax Financial	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.75
Intact Financial	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.60

Is FFH or IFC a better dividend stock?

Fairfax Financial pays an annual dividend of C$20.29 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. Intact Financial pays an annual dividend of C$4.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Fairfax Financial pays out 7.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Intact Financial pays out 37.5% 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.

Summary

Fairfax Financial beats Intact Financial on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.