Comparing Vericity (VERY) and Its Peers

Vericity (NASDAQ:VERY) is one of 41 publicly-traded companies in the “Life insurance” industry, but how does it contrast to its peers? We will compare Vericity to similar companies based on the strength of its valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Vericity and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Vericity	-5.57%	-9.13%	-1.23%
Vericity Competitors	6.82%	13.46%	1.08%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Vericity and its peers revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Vericity	$177.57 million	-$9.89 million	-16.69
Vericity Competitors	$21.02 billion	$1.29 billion	7.05

Vericity’s peers have higher revenue and earnings than Vericity. Vericity is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

1.9% of Vericity shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 54.8% of shares of all “Life insurance” companies are owned by institutional investors. 10.4% of Vericity shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 14.8% of shares of all “Life insurance” companies are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

Vericity has a beta of 0.14, suggesting that its stock price is 86% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Vericity’s peers have a beta of 0.82, suggesting that their average stock price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Vericity and its peers, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Vericity	0	0	0	0	N/A
Vericity Competitors	341	2304	1997	71	2.38

As a group, “Life insurance” companies have a potential upside of 55.11%. Given Vericity’s peers higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Vericity has less favorable growth aspects than its peers.

Summary

Vericity peers beat Vericity on 10 of the 10 factors compared.

Vericity Company Profile

Vericity, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides life insurance protection products for the middle American market. The company operates through Agency and Insurance segments. The Agency segment sells life insurance products for unaffiliated insurance companies through its call center distribution platform, as well as through its independent agents and other marketing organizations. This segment is also involved in the insurance lead sale activities through its eCoverage web presence. The Insurance segment provides term life, accidental death, and final expense products. Vericity, Inc. was incorporated in 2013 and is headquartered in Des Plaines, Illinois.