Beazley (BEZ) Competitors

Beazley (LON:BEZ) and Lancashire (LON:LRE) are both financial services companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, media sentiment, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability and earnings.

Is BEZ or LRE a better dividend stock?

Beazley pays an annual dividend of GBX 14 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. Lancashire pays an annual dividend of GBX 18 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. Beazley pays out 8.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Lancashire pays out 34.3% 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.

Does the media favor BEZ or LRE?

In the previous week, Beazley and Beazley both had 3 articles in the media. Beazley's average media sentiment score of 0.30 beat Lancashire's score of -0.33 indicating that Beazley is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Beazley	0 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Lancashire	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Do analysts rate BEZ or LRE?

Beazley currently has a consensus target price of GBX 1,150, indicating a potential upside of 26.70%. Lancashire has a consensus target price of GBX 663, indicating a potential upside of 6.98%. Given Beazley's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Beazley is more favorable than Lancashire.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Beazley	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
Lancashire	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50

Which has better earnings and valuation, BEZ or LRE?

Beazley has higher revenue and earnings than Lancashire. Beazley is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Lancashire, 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
Beazley	£6.57B	1.06	£1.50B	£159.74	5.68
Lancashire	£536.12M	3.49	£199.02M	£52.49	11.81

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in BEZ or LRE?

72.5% of Beazley shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 60.5% of Lancashire shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.3% of Beazley shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of Lancashire shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is BEZ or LRE more profitable?

Lancashire has a net margin of 37.12% compared to Beazley's net margin of 22.82%. Beazley's return on equity of 32.60% beat Lancashire's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Beazley	22.82%	32.60%	9.50%
Lancashire	37.12%	10.76%	6.75%

Which has more risk and volatility, BEZ or LRE?

Beazley has a beta of 0.68, meaning that its stock price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lancashire has a beta of 0.62, meaning that its stock price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Beazley beats Lancashire on 12 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.