Contrasting Palomar (NASDAQ:PLMR) & Bowhead Specialty (NYSE:BOW)

Palomar (NASDAQ:PLMR) and Bowhead Specialty (NYSE:BOW) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, dividends, valuation, risk, earnings and institutional ownership.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Palomar and Bowhead Specialty”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Palomar	$553.86 million	6.06	$79.20 million	$4.48	28.33
Bowhead Specialty	$389.11 million	2.69	N/A	N/A	N/A

Palomar has higher revenue and earnings than Bowhead Specialty.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

90.3% of Palomar shares are held by institutional investors. 4.3% of Palomar shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Palomar and Bowhead Specialty’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Palomar	21.55%	19.65%	5.51%
Bowhead Specialty	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Palomar and Bowhead Specialty, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Palomar	0	3	4	0	2.57
Bowhead Specialty	0	3	2	0	2.40

Palomar currently has a consensus target price of $124.67, suggesting a potential downside of 1.78%. Bowhead Specialty has a consensus target price of $33.60, suggesting a potential upside of 4.90%. Given Bowhead Specialty’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Bowhead Specialty is more favorable than Palomar.

Summary

Palomar beats Bowhead Specialty on 9 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Palomar

Palomar Holdings, Inc., a specialty insurance company, provides property and casualty insurance to residential and businesses in the United States. The company offers personal and commercial specialty property insurance products, including residential and commercial earthquake, fronting, commercial all risk, specialty homeowners, inland marine, Hawaii hurricane, and residential flood, as well as other products, such as assumed reinsurance. It markets and distributes its products through retail agents, wholesale brokers, program administrators, and carrier partnerships. The company was formerly known as GC Palomar Holdings and changed its name to Palomar Holdings, Inc. The company was incorporated in 2013 and is headquartered in La Jolla, California.

About Bowhead Specialty

Bowhead Specialty Holdings Inc. provides specialty property and casualty insurance products in the United States. It underwrites casualty insurance solutions for risks in the construction, distribution, heavy manufacturing, real estate, and hospitality segments; professional liability insurance solutions for financial institutions, private and public directors and officers liability insurance, errors and omissions liability insurance, and cyber segments; and healthcare solutions for hospitals, senior care providers, managed care organizations, miscellaneous medical facilities, and healthcare management liability segments. The company distributes its products through distribution partners in wholesale and retail markets. Bowhead Specialty Holdings Inc. was formerly known as Bowhead Holdings Inc. and changed its name to Bowhead Specialty Holdings Inc. in March 2024. The company was founded in 2020 and is based in New York, New York. Bowhead Specialty Holdings Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Bowhead Insurance Holdings LP.