Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (AJG) Competitors

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

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

85.5% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 33.7% of Erie Indemnity shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.6% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 45.8% of Erie Indemnity shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Does the media refer more to AJG or ERIE?

In the previous week, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had 18 more articles in the media than Erie Indemnity. MarketBeat recorded 23 mentions for Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. and 5 mentions for Erie Indemnity. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s average media sentiment score of 1.28 beat Erie Indemnity's score of -0.19 indicating that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.	20 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Erie Indemnity	1 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Do analysts recommend AJG or ERIE?

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has a consensus price target of $319.29, suggesting a potential upside of 0.88%. Given Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research 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
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.	2 Sell rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.21
Erie Indemnity	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00

Is AJG or ERIE a better dividend stock?

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

Which has more risk and volatility, AJG or ERIE?

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

Which has higher valuation & earnings, AJG or ERIE?

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
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.	$11.40B	7.11	$1.46B	$6.91	45.80
Erie Indemnity	$3.80B	4.22	$600.31M	$11.75	29.53

Is AJG or ERIE 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
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.	14.39%	14.83%	3.80%
Erie Indemnity	15.73%	31.37%	21.53%

Summary

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