Brown & Brown (BRO) Competitors

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

Is BRO or ERIE more profitable?

Brown & Brown has a net margin of 20.84% compared to Erie Indemnity's net margin of 15.73%. Erie Indemnity's return on equity of 31.37% beat Brown & Brown's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Brown & Brown	20.84%	17.77%	6.76%
Erie Indemnity	15.73%	31.37%	21.53%

Is BRO or ERIE a better dividend stock?

Brown & Brown pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. Erie Indemnity pays an annual dividend of $5.46 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Brown & Brown pays out 16.7% 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. 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.

Does the media favor BRO or ERIE?

In the previous week, Brown & Brown had 54 more articles in the media than Erie Indemnity. MarketBeat recorded 59 mentions for Brown & Brown and 5 mentions for Erie Indemnity. Brown & Brown's average media sentiment score of 0.45 beat Erie Indemnity's score of 0.22 indicating that Brown & Brown is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Brown & Brown	23 Very Positive mention(s)	4 Positive mention(s)	22 Neutral mention(s)	6 Negative mention(s)	2 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Erie Indemnity	0 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Do analysts recommend BRO or ERIE?

Brown & Brown currently has a consensus target price of $118.23, indicating a potential upside of 9.48%. Given Brown & Brown's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Brown & Brown is more favorable than Erie Indemnity.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Brown & Brown	1 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.43
Erie Indemnity	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00

Which has more volatility & risk, BRO or ERIE?

Brown & Brown has a beta of 0.82, indicating that its stock price is 18% 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 stronger valuation and earnings, BRO or ERIE?

Brown & Brown has higher revenue and earnings than Erie Indemnity. Erie Indemnity is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Brown & Brown, 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
Brown & Brown	$4.81B	6.44	$993M	$3.59	30.08
Erie Indemnity	$3.80B	4.19	$600.31M	$11.75	29.32

Do institutionals & insiders believe in BRO or ERIE?

71.0% of Brown & Brown shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 33.7% of Erie Indemnity shares are held by institutional investors. 17.0% of Brown & Brown shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 45.8% of Erie Indemnity shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Brown & Brown beats Erie Indemnity on 13 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.