Palomar (NASDAQ:PLMR) versus Investors Title (NASDAQ:ITIC) Head-To-Head Survey

Investors Title (NASDAQ:ITIC) and Palomar (NASDAQ:PLMR) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, risk, dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares Investors Title and Palomar’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Investors Title	12.28%	12.70%	9.71%
Palomar	22.71%	20.35%	6.38%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Investors Title and Palomar”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Investors Title	$258.30 million	1.89	$31.07 million	$17.48	14.79
Palomar	$679.67 million	4.49	$117.57 million	$5.69	20.04

Palomar has higher revenue and earnings than Investors Title. Investors Title is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Palomar, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Investors Title and Palomar, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Investors Title	0	0	1	0	3.00
Palomar	0	3	5	0	2.63

Palomar has a consensus price target of $156.67, suggesting a potential upside of 37.41%. Given Palomar’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Palomar is more favorable than Investors Title.

Risk and Volatility

Investors Title has a beta of 0.87, suggesting that its share price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Palomar has a beta of 0.3, suggesting that its share price is 70% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

41.4% of Investors Title shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 90.3% of Palomar shares are held by institutional investors. 26.4% of Investors Title shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.7% of Palomar shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Palomar beats Investors Title on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Investors Title

Investors Title Company engages in the issuance of residential and commercial title insurance for residential, institutional, commercial, and industrial properties. The company underwrites land title insurance for owners and mortgagees as a primary insurer; and assumes the reinsurance of title insurance risks from other title insurance companies. It offers services in connection with tax-deferred exchanges of like-kind property; acts as a qualified intermediary in tax-deferred exchanges of property; coordinates the exchange aspects of the real estate transaction, such as drafting standard exchange documents, holding the exchange funds between the sale of the old property and the purchase of the new property, and accepting the formal identification of the replacement property. In addition, it serves as an exchange accommodation titleholder for accomplishing reverse exchanges when the taxpayers decide to acquire replacement property before selling the relinquished property. Further, the company offers investment management and trust services to individuals, companies, banks, and trusts; and consulting and management services to clients to start and operate a title insurance agency. It issues title insurance policies directly and through a network of agents in 22 states and the District of Columbia, primarily in the eastern half of the United States. Investors Title Company was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

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.