Head to Head Comparison: Powszechny Zaklad Ubezpieczen (OTCMKTS:PWZYF) versus United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS)

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) and Powszechny Zaklad Ubezpieczen (OTCMKTS:PWZYF) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, risk, valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for United Fire Group and Powszechny Zaklad Ubezpieczen, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
United Fire Group	1	0	0	0	1.00
Powszechny Zaklad Ubezpieczen	0	0	0	0	N/A

United Fire Group currently has a consensus target price of $19.00, indicating a potential downside of 8.48%. Given United Fire Group’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe United Fire Group is more favorable than Powszechny Zaklad Ubezpieczen.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares United Fire Group and Powszechny Zaklad Ubezpieczen”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
United Fire Group	$1.16 billion	0.45	-$29.70 million	($0.69)	-30.09
Powszechny Zaklad Ubezpieczen	N/A	N/A	N/A	C$35.81	0.34

Powszechny Zaklad Ubezpieczen has lower revenue, but higher earnings than United Fire Group. United Fire Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Powszechny Zaklad Ubezpieczen, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares United Fire Group and Powszechny Zaklad Ubezpieczen’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
United Fire Group	3.17%	5.23%	1.16%
Powszechny Zaklad Ubezpieczen	N/A	N/A	N/A

Institutional & Insider Ownership

62.7% of United Fire Group shares are held by institutional investors. 6.0% of United Fire Group 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.

Summary

United Fire Group beats Powszechny Zaklad Ubezpieczen on 7 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About United Fire Group

United Fire Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides property and casualty insurance for individuals and businesses in the United States. The company offers commercial and personal lines of property and casualty insurance; and reinsurance coverage for property and casualty insurance. Its commercial lines include fire and allied lines, other liability, automobile, workers’ compensation, fidelity and surety coverage, and other insurance products; and personal lines comprise automobile, and fire and allied lines coverage, including homeowners, as well as provides assumed reinsurance products. The company sells its products through a network of independent agencies. United Fire Group, Inc. was incorporated in 1946 and is headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

About Powszechny Zaklad Ubezpieczen

POWSZECHNY Zaklad Ubezpieczen SA provides life and non-life insurance products and services in Poland, the Baltic States, and Ukraine. It operates through Corporate Insurance, Mass Insurance, Group and Individually Continued Life Insurance, Individual Life Insurance, Investments, Pension Insurance, Banking, Baltic States, Ukraine, Investment Contracts, and Other segments. The company offers motor, property, casualty, agricultural, fire, and third-party liability insurance, as well as health, accident, and life insurance. It also provides banking, factoring, medical, hospital, physical therapy, asset management, assistance, leasing, IT, call center, brokerage, and spa services; manages pension and mutual funds; and offers financial and accounting services. In addition, the company is involved in buying, operating, renting, and selling real estate properties; investment activity; and consulting and training, and other monetary intermediation businesses. Further, it engages in the production and sale of radiators and sanitary fittings, bathroom accessories, and fittings; and auxiliary activity associated with insurance and pension funds. Powszechny Zaklad Ubezpieczen SA was founded in 1803 and is headquartered in Warsaw, Poland.