Comparing Gjensidige Forsikring ASA (OTCMKTS:GJNSY) & American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG)

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) and Gjensidige Forsikring ASA (OTCMKTS:GJNSY) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation and profitability.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for American Financial Group and Gjensidige Forsikring ASA, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
American Financial Group	0	2	2	0	2.50
Gjensidige Forsikring ASA	0	0	1	0	3.00

American Financial Group currently has a consensus price target of $135.00, suggesting a potential upside of 4.51%. Given American Financial Group’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe American Financial Group is more favorable than Gjensidige Forsikring ASA.

Dividends

American Financial Group pays an annual dividend of $2.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Gjensidige Forsikring ASA pays an annual dividend of $10.70 per share and has a dividend yield of 64.6%. American Financial Group pays out 27.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Gjensidige Forsikring ASA pays out 122.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. American Financial Group has raised its dividend for 18 consecutive years.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares American Financial Group and Gjensidige Forsikring ASA’s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
American Financial Group	$7.93 billion	1.37	$852.00 million	$10.45	12.36
Gjensidige Forsikring ASA	N/A	N/A	N/A	$8.72	1.90

American Financial Group has higher revenue and earnings than Gjensidige Forsikring ASA. Gjensidige Forsikring ASA is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than American Financial Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

64.4% of American Financial Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.0% of Gjensidige Forsikring ASA shares are owned by institutional investors. 14.5% of American Financial Group shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares American Financial Group and Gjensidige Forsikring ASA’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
American Financial Group	11.03%	21.56%	2.94%
Gjensidige Forsikring ASA	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

American Financial Group beats Gjensidige Forsikring ASA on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About American Financial Group

American Financial Group, Inc., an insurance holding company, provides specialty property and casualty insurance products in the United States. The company offers property and transportation insurance products, such as physical damage and liability coverage for buses and trucks, inland and ocean marine, agricultural-related products, and other commercial property and specialty transportation coverages; specialty casualty insurance, including primarily excess and surplus, executive and professional liability, general liability, umbrella and excess liability, and specialty coverage in targeted markets, as well as customized programs for small to mid-sized businesses and workers' compensation insurance; and specialty financial insurance products comprising risk management insurance programs for lending and leasing institutions, fidelity and surety products, and trade credit insurance. It sells its property and casualty insurance products through independent insurance agents and brokers. The company was founded in 1872 and is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio.

About Gjensidige Forsikring ASA

Gjensidige Forsikring ASA engages in the provision of general insurance and pension products in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. The company operates through five segments: General Insurance Private, General Insurance Commercial, General Insurance Sweden, General Insurance Baltics, and Pension. It offers motor, property, accident and health, liability, marine/transport, natural perils, agriculture, travel, leisure craft, valuables, commercial, and life insurance products. The company also provides defined contribution occupational pension schemes for businesses, which include disability pension, spouse/cohabitant pension, and child's pension products. It distributes its products through various distribution channels comprising office channel, call center, Internet, partners, and brokers to private and commercial customers. The company was founded in 1816 and is headquartered in Oslo, Norway. Gjensidige Forsikring ASA operates as a subsidiary of GjensidigeStiftelsen.