Reviewing ProAssurance (NYSE:PRA) & Skyward Specialty Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SKWD)

ProAssurance (NYSE:PRA) and Skyward Specialty Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SKWD) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, risk, earnings, dividends, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Risk & Volatility

ProAssurance has a beta of 0.29, suggesting that its share price is 71% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Skyward Specialty Insurance Group has a beta of 0.89, suggesting that its share price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares ProAssurance and Skyward Specialty Insurance Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ProAssurance	3.71%	2.65%	0.54%
Skyward Specialty Insurance Group	12.24%	16.39%	3.57%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

85.6% of ProAssurance shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 94.8% of Skyward Specialty Insurance Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of ProAssurance shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 8.0% of Skyward Specialty Insurance Group shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for ProAssurance and Skyward Specialty Insurance Group, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ProAssurance	0	2	1	0	2.33
Skyward Specialty Insurance Group	0	3	7	1	2.82

ProAssurance presently has a consensus price target of $18.67, indicating a potential upside of 23.38%. Skyward Specialty Insurance Group has a consensus price target of $47.78, indicating a potential upside of 4.75%. Given ProAssurance’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe ProAssurance is more favorable than Skyward Specialty Insurance Group.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares ProAssurance and Skyward Specialty Insurance Group”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ProAssurance	$1.14 billion	0.68	-$38.60 million	$0.83	18.23
Skyward Specialty Insurance Group	$1.09 billion	1.67	$85.98 million	$3.28	13.91

Skyward Specialty Insurance Group has lower revenue, but higher earnings than ProAssurance. Skyward Specialty Insurance Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than ProAssurance, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Skyward Specialty Insurance Group beats ProAssurance on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ProAssurance

ProAssurance Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides property and casualty insurance, and reinsurance products in the United States. The company operates through Specialty Property and Casualty, Workers’ Compensation Insurance, and Segregated Portfolio Cell Reinsurance segments. It offers professional liability insurance to healthcare providers and institutions, and attorneys and their firms; medical technology liability insurance to medical technology and life sciences companies; and custom alternative risk solutions, including assumed reinsurance, loss portfolio transfers, and captive cell programs for healthcare professional liability insureds. The company also provides workers’ compensation insurance products, such as guaranteed cost policies, policyholder dividend policies, retrospectively rated policies, and deductible policies, as well as alternative market solutions that include program design, fronting, claims administration, risk management, SPC rental, asset management, and SPC management services for individual companies, agencies, groups, and associations. The company also participates in Syndicate 1729 at Lloyd’s of London for underwriting. It markets its products through independent agencies and brokers, as well as an internal business development team. The company was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama.

About Skyward Specialty Insurance Group

Skyward Specialty Insurance Group, Inc., an insurance holding company, underwrites commercial property and casualty insurance products in the United States. It offers general liability, excess liability, professional liability, commercial auto, group accident and health, property, surety, and workers' compensation insurance products. Skyward Specialty Insurance Group, Inc. was incorporated in 2006 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.