Sagicor Financial (SFC) Competitors

E-L Financial (TSE:ELF) and Sagicor Financial (TSE:SFC) are both small-cap financial services companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, earnings, media sentiment, dividends, profitability, risk and institutional ownership.

Does the media refer more to ELF or SFC?

In the previous week, E-L Financial had 6 more articles in the media than Sagicor Financial. MarketBeat recorded 7 mentions for E-L Financial and 1 mentions for Sagicor Financial. Sagicor Financial's average media sentiment score of 0.86 beat E-L Financial's score of 0.85 indicating that Sagicor Financial is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
E-L Financial	4 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Sagicor Financial	0 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is ELF or SFC more profitable?

E-L Financial has a net margin of 33.27% compared to Sagicor Financial's net margin of 22.28%. Sagicor Financial's return on equity of 56.05% beat E-L Financial's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
E-L Financial	33.27%	23.62%	4.52%
Sagicor Financial	22.28%	56.05%	1.50%

Which has better earnings & valuation, ELF or SFC?

E-L Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Sagicor Financial. E-L Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Sagicor 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
E-L Financial	C$5.55B	0.01	C$1.84B	C$532.90	0.03
Sagicor Financial	C$1.58B	0.46	C$352.72M	C$5.28	1.44

Which has more volatility & risk, ELF or SFC?

E-L Financial has a beta of 0.85, suggesting that its share price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Sagicor Financial has a beta of 0.2, suggesting that its share price is 80% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts prefer ELF or SFC?

Sagicor Financial has a consensus target price of C$10.75, indicating a potential upside of 41.08%. Given Sagicor Financial's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Sagicor Financial is more favorable than E-L Financial.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
E-L Financial	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00
Sagicor Financial	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.25

Is ELF or SFC a better dividend stock?

E-L Financial pays an annual dividend of C$15.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 103.4%. Sagicor Financial pays an annual dividend of C$0.33 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.3%. E-L Financial pays out 2.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Sagicor Financial pays out 6.3% 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. E-L Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Do institutionals and insiders believe in ELF or SFC?

16.0% of E-L Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.3% of Sagicor Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 57.8% of E-L Financial shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 34.2% of Sagicor Financial shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

E-L Financial beats Sagicor Financial on 11 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.