eHealth (NASDAQ:EHTH – Get Free Report) and Atlantic American (NASDAQ:AAME – Get Free Report) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, dividends and institutional ownership.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares eHealth and Atlantic American”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| eHealth | $554.01 million | 0.03 | $40.04 million | ($1.16) | -0.42 |
| Atlantic American | $208.22 million | 0.11 | $6.02 million | $0.26 | 4.15 |
eHealth has higher revenue and earnings than Atlantic American. eHealth is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Atlantic American, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
79.5% of eHealth shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 5.5% of Atlantic American shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.2% of eHealth shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 80.1% of Atlantic American shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for eHealth and Atlantic American, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| eHealth | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1.83 |
| Atlantic American | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
eHealth currently has a consensus target price of $2.19, suggesting a potential upside of 351.03%. Given eHealth’s higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe eHealth is more favorable than Atlantic American.
Volatility and Risk
eHealth has a beta of 1.66, meaning that its share price is 66% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Atlantic American has a beta of 0.82, meaning that its share price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares eHealth and Atlantic American’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| eHealth | 5.42% | 6.13% | 2.92% |
| Atlantic American | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Summary
eHealth beats Atlantic American on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.
About eHealth
eHealth, Inc. operates a health insurance marketplace that provides consumer engagement, education, and health insurance enrollment solutions in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Medicare; and Employer and Individual. The Medicare segment offers sale of Medicare-related health insurance plans, which includes Medicare advantage, Medicare Supplement, and Medicare Part D prescription drug plans to Medicare-eligible customers including but not limited to, dental, and vision insurance, as well as advertising program for marketing and other services. The Employer and Individual segment engages in the sale of individual, family, and small business health insurance plans; and ancillary products to non-Medicare-eligible customers including but not limited to, dental, vision, and short and long term disability insurance. In addition, the company provides ecommerce platforms and consumer engagement solutions, which includes market leading information, decision support, customer engagement, and transactional services to group of health insurance consumers; and organize and present the insurance information in objective format to individuals, families, and small businesses to research, analyze, compare and purchase health insurance plans. Further, it markets health insurance plans through its websites, including eHealth.com, eHealthInsurance.com, eHealthMedicare.com, Medicare.com, PlanPrescriber.com, and GoMedigap.com. The company also offers online sponsorship and advertising, non-broker of record, lead referral, technology licensing, as well as performs various post-enrollment services for members in Medicare health insurance plans. eHealth, Inc. was incorporated in 1997 and is headquartered in Austin, Texas.
About Atlantic American
Atlantic American Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides life and health, and property and casualty insurance products in the United States. It operates through American Southern and Bankers Fidelity segments. The company offers property and casualty insurance products, including commercial automobile insurance coverage for state governments, local municipalities, and other motor pools and fleets; general liability; and inland marine insurance products. It also provides surety bond coverage for subdivision construction; school bus contracts; and performance and payment bonds. In addition, the company offers individual and group whole life insurance products; Medicare supplement insurance products; and other accident and health insurance products comprising various individual and group policies for the payment of standard benefits for the treatment of diagnosed cancer and other critical illnesses, as well as various other products, such as short-term nursing facility care, accident only, hospital indemnity, and disability coverages. It markets its products through independent agents and brokers. The company was founded in 1937 and is based in Atlanta, Georgia. Atlantic American Corporation is a subsidiary of Atlantic American / Delta Group.
Receive News & Ratings for eHealth Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for eHealth and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
