Head-To-Head Contrast: AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) & Fidelis Insurance (NYSE:FIHL)

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) and Fidelis Insurance (NYSE:FIHL) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, risk, profitability, institutional ownership and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares AMERISAFE and Fidelis Insurance’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
AMERISAFE	19.49%	16.50%	4.02%
Fidelis Insurance	20.17%	15.27%	3.36%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares AMERISAFE and Fidelis Insurance”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
AMERISAFE	$315.18 million	3.55	$62.11 million	$3.20	18.34
Fidelis Insurance	$2.29 billion	1.05	$2.13 billion	$3.96	5.15

Fidelis Insurance has higher revenue and earnings than AMERISAFE. Fidelis Insurance is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than AMERISAFE, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

AMERISAFE pays an annual dividend of $1.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Fidelis Insurance pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. AMERISAFE pays out 46.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Fidelis Insurance pays out 10.1% 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. AMERISAFE has raised its dividend for 11 consecutive years. AMERISAFE is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Risk & Volatility

AMERISAFE has a beta of 0.33, meaning that its stock price is 67% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Fidelis Insurance has a beta of -0.01, meaning that its stock price is 101% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

97.4% of AMERISAFE shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 82.0% of Fidelis Insurance shares are held by institutional investors. 1.5% of AMERISAFE shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for AMERISAFE and Fidelis Insurance, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
AMERISAFE	0	1	1	0	2.50
Fidelis Insurance	0	4	3	0	2.43

AMERISAFE currently has a consensus price target of $59.50, suggesting a potential upside of 1.38%. Fidelis Insurance has a consensus price target of $20.69, suggesting a potential upside of 1.46%. Given Fidelis Insurance’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Fidelis Insurance is more favorable than AMERISAFE.

Summary

AMERISAFE beats Fidelis Insurance on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About AMERISAFE

AMERISAFE, Inc., an insurance holding company, underwrites workers’ compensation insurance in the United States. The company provides benefits to injured employees for temporary or permanent disability, death, and medical and hospital expenses. It sells its products through retail and wholesale brokers and agents; and small and mid-sized employers engaged in hazardous industries, including construction, trucking, logging and lumber, agriculture, manufacturing, telecommunications, and maritime. AMERISAFE, Inc. was incorporated in 1985 and is based in DeRidder, Louisiana.

About Fidelis Insurance

Fidelis Insurance Holdings Limited, a specialty insurer, provides insurance and reinsurance solutions in Bermuda, the Republic of Ireland, and the United Kingdom. It operates in three segments: Specialty, Reinsurance, and Bespoke segments. The Specialty segment offers aviation and aerospace, energy, marine, property direct and facultative, and other specialty risk solutions. The Reinsurance segment provides property, retrocession, and whole account reinsurance solutions. The Bespoke segment offers customized risk solutions for clients that include credit and political risk, as well as other risk transfer opportunities, including political violence and terrorism, limited cyber reinsurance, tax liabilities, title, transactional liabilities, and other bespoke solutions. Fidelis Insurance Holdings Limited was incorporated in 2014 and is headquartered in Pembroke, Bermuda.