Palomar (NASDAQ:PLMR – Get Free Report) and Octave Specialty Group (NYSE:OSG – Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, risk, earnings, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability and analyst recommendations.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Palomar and Octave Specialty Group, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Palomar | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2.67 |
| Octave Specialty Group | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2.50 |
Palomar presently has a consensus price target of $147.75, indicating a potential upside of 16.90%. Octave Specialty Group has a consensus price target of $15.00, indicating a potential upside of 139.43%. Given Octave Specialty Group’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Octave Specialty Group is more favorable than Palomar.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
Profitability
This table compares Palomar and Octave Specialty Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Palomar | 20.11% | 22.62% | 6.60% |
| Octave Specialty Group | -75.91% | -0.55% | -0.13% |
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Palomar and Octave Specialty Group”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Palomar | $875.97 million | 3.82 | $197.07 million | $7.18 | 17.60 |
| Octave Specialty Group | $455.58 million | 0.62 | -$261.69 million | ($4.86) | -1.29 |
Palomar has higher revenue and earnings than Octave Specialty Group. Octave Specialty Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Palomar, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Risk & Volatility
Palomar has a beta of 0.44, indicating that its share price is 56% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Octave Specialty Group has a beta of 0.86, indicating that its share price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Palomar beats Octave Specialty Group on 11 of the 15 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 Octave Specialty Group
Ambac Financial Group, Inc. operates as a financial services holding company. It operates three businesses: Specialty Property and Casualty Insurance, Insurance Distribution, and Legacy Financial Guarantee (LFG) Insurance. The Specialty Property and Casualty Insurance business provides specialty property and casualty program insurance with a focus commercial and personal liability risks. The Insurance Distribution business includes the specialty property and casualty insurance distribution business, which includes managing general agents and underwriters, insurance wholesalers, brokers, and other distribution businesses. The LFG Insurance business offers financial guarantee insurance policies that provide an unconditional and irrevocable guarantee, which protects the holder of a debt obligation against non-payment when due of the principal and interest on the obligations guaranteed. Ambac Financial Group, Inc. was incorporated in 1991 and is headquartered in New York, New York.
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