Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) versus Assicurazioni Generali (OTCMKTS:ARZGF) Head to Head Comparison

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) and Assicurazioni Generali (OTCMKTS:ARZGF) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares Sun Life Financial and Assicurazioni Generali’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Sun Life Financial	7.28%	15.10%	1.16%
Assicurazioni Generali	N/A	N/A	N/A

Insider & Institutional Ownership

45.0% of Sun Life Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 14.6% of Assicurazioni Generali shares are held by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Sun Life Financial and Assicurazioni Generali’s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Sun Life Financial	$17.94 billion	1.60	$2.50 billion	$3.64	13.40
Assicurazioni Generali	N/A	N/A	N/A	$1.24	16.23

Sun Life Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Assicurazioni Generali. Sun Life Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Assicurazioni Generali, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Sun Life Financial pays an annual dividend of $2.26 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.6%. Assicurazioni Generali pays an annual dividend of $0.33 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Sun Life Financial pays out 62.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Assicurazioni Generali pays out 26.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Sun Life Financial has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Sun Life Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Sun Life Financial and Assicurazioni Generali, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Sun Life Financial	0	1	2	0	2.67
Assicurazioni Generali	1	0	0	0	1.00

Sun Life Financial currently has a consensus target price of $72.89, suggesting a potential upside of 49.41%. Given Sun Life Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Sun Life Financial is more favorable than Assicurazioni Generali.

Summary

Sun Life Financial beats Assicurazioni Generali on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Sun Life Financial

Sun Life Financial Inc., a financial services company, provides savings, retirement, and pension products worldwide. It offers term and permanent life, as well as personal health, dental, critical illness, long-term care, and disability insurance products. The company provides financial advice, asset management, and investments related products. It is also involved in mutual fund and investment management businesses. Sun Life Financial Inc was founded in 1871 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

About Assicurazioni Generali

Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A. engages in the provision of various insurance solutions. The company operates through four segments: Life, Property & Casualty, Asset & Wealth Management, and Holding and Other Business. It offers savings, individual and family protection, and unit linked, as well as motor third-party liability, home, casualty, accident, health, and commercial and industrial risks insurance products; and insurance plans for multinational companies. The company also provides equity and fixed-income funds, and alternative products; and financial holding, investment advisory, asset management, and financial planning services. It operates in Italy, Argentina, Austria, Bulgaria, Brazil, Croatia, Chile, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Montenegro, Philippines, the Americas, Southern Europe, and Asia under the Generali brand. The company was formerly known as Assicurazioni Generali Austro-Italiche and changed its name to Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A. in 1848. Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A. was founded in 1831 and is headquartered in Trieste, Italy.