First Acceptance (OTCMKTS:FACO) & Bowhead Specialty (NYSE:BOW) Head to Head Survey

First Acceptance (OTCMKTS:FACO) and Bowhead Specialty (NYSE:BOW) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, dividends, valuation, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for First Acceptance and Bowhead Specialty, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Acceptance	0	0	0	0	0.00
Bowhead Specialty	0	3	5	0	2.63

Bowhead Specialty has a consensus target price of $38.3333, indicating a potential upside of 20.71%. Given Bowhead Specialty’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Bowhead Specialty is more favorable than First Acceptance.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

0.1% of First Acceptance shares are owned by institutional investors. 9.5% of First Acceptance shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk & Volatility

First Acceptance has a beta of -0.13, meaning that its stock price is 113% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Bowhead Specialty has a beta of -0.69, meaning that its stock price is 169% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares First Acceptance and Bowhead Specialty’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Acceptance	4.66%	14.50%	3.51%
Bowhead Specialty	10.05%	13.25%	2.94%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares First Acceptance and Bowhead Specialty”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Acceptance	$559.43 million	0.23	$26.29 million	$0.64	5.55
Bowhead Specialty	$425.66 million	2.45	$38.24 million	$1.47	21.60

Bowhead Specialty has lower revenue, but higher earnings than First Acceptance. First Acceptance is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Bowhead Specialty, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Bowhead Specialty beats First Acceptance on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About First Acceptance

First Acceptance Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a retailer, servicer, and underwriter of non-standard personal automobile insurance and related products in the United States. It issues non-standard automobile insurance policies to individuals based on their inability or unwillingness to obtain insurance coverage from standard carriers due to various factors, including their payment preference, failure to maintain continuous insurance coverage, or driving record. The company also underwrites auto and motorcycle insurance products; and renters, homeowners, commercial, pet, life, travel, outdoor vehicle, and hospital indemnity insurance products. In addition, it provides TeleMed, a subscription service that offers access to doctor for consulting, diagnosing, and prescribing medication for non-emergency illness. The company primarily distributes its products through its retail locations, as well as through call center and internet. As of December 31, 2021, it leased and operated 338 retail locations, and a call center. First Acceptance Corporation was founded in 1969 and is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee.

About Bowhead Specialty

Bowhead Specialty Holdings Inc. provides specialty property and casualty insurance products in the United States. It underwrites casualty insurance solutions for risks in the construction, distribution, heavy manufacturing, real estate, and hospitality segments; professional liability insurance solutions for financial institutions, private and public directors and officers liability insurance, errors and omissions liability insurance, and cyber segments; and healthcare solutions for hospitals, senior care providers, managed care organizations, miscellaneous medical facilities, and healthcare management liability segments. The company distributes its products through distribution partners in wholesale and retail markets. Bowhead Specialty Holdings Inc. was formerly known as Bowhead Holdings Inc. and changed its name to Bowhead Specialty Holdings Inc. in March 2024. The company was founded in 2020 and is based in New York, New York. Bowhead Specialty Holdings Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Bowhead Insurance Holdings LP.