Head-To-Head Comparison: Kansas City Life Insurance (OTCMKTS:KCLI) and Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China (OTCMKTS:PIAIF)

Kansas City Life Insurance (OTCMKTS:KCLI) and Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China (OTCMKTS:PIAIF) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, risk, institutional ownership, valuation, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Kansas City Life Insurance and Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Kansas City Life Insurance	10.73%	10.79%	1.20%
Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China	N/A	N/A	N/A

Insider & Institutional Ownership

0.1% of Kansas City Life Insurance shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 7.8% of Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China shares are owned by institutional investors. 63.1% of Kansas City Life Insurance shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Kansas City Life Insurance and Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Kansas City Life Insurance	$558.92 million	N/A	$54.92 million	$6.19	5.74
Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China	N/A	N/A	N/A	$4.41	1.45

Kansas City Life Insurance has higher revenue and earnings than Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China. Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Kansas City Life Insurance, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Kansas City Life Insurance and Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Kansas City Life Insurance	0	0	0	0	N/A
Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China	0	0	0	0	N/A

Dividends

Kansas City Life Insurance pays an annual dividend of $0.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China pays an annual dividend of $0.70 per share and has a dividend yield of 10.9%. Kansas City Life Insurance pays out 9.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China pays out 15.9% 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

Kansas City Life Insurance beats Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China on 8 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Kansas City Life Insurance

Kansas City Life Insurance Company provides insurance products and services in states and the District of Columbia. It operates through three segments: Individual Insurance, Group Insurance, and Old American. The Individual Insurance segment consists of individual insurance products for Kansas City life, Grange life, and the assumed reinsurance transactions. The Group Insurance segment sells group life, dental, vision, disability, accident, and critical illness products. The Old American segment consists of individual insurance products designed for final expense products. Kansas City Life Insurance Company was incorporated in 1895 and is based in Kansas City, Missouri.

About Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China

Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd. provides financial products and services for insurance, banking, asset management, and technology businesses in the People's Republic of China. The company operates through Life and Health Insurance; Property and Casualty Insurance; Banking; Asset Management; and Technology segments. Its Life and Health Insurance segment offers term, whole-life, endowment, annuity, investment-linked, universal life, and health care and medical insurance to individual and corporate customers. The company's Property and Casualty Insurance segment provides auto, non-auto, and accident and health insurance to individual and corporate customers. Its Banking segment undertakes loan and intermediary businesses with corporate and retail customers; and offers wealth management and credit card services to individual customers. The company's Asset Management segment provides trust products services, brokerage services, trading services, investment banking services, investment management, finance lease, and other asset management services. Its Technology segment offers financial and daily-life services through internet platforms, such as financial transaction information service, and health care service platforms. The company also provides annuity insurance, IT and business process outsourcing, real estate investment and management, futures brokerage, project investment, currency brokerage, property agency, fund raising and distribution, real estate development and leasing, and insurance agency services. In addition, it provides factoring, equity investment, logistics and warehousing, management consulting, e-commerce, and credit information services; and operates an expressway, as well as produces and sells consumer chemicals. The company was incorporated in 1988 and is based in Shenzhen, China.