American Coastal Insurance (NASDAQ:ACIC – Get Free Report) and Heritage Insurance (NYSE:HRTG – 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 institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability, valuation and earnings.
Profitability
This table compares American Coastal Insurance and Heritage Insurance’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| American Coastal Insurance | 31.85% | 34.62% | 8.72% |
| Heritage Insurance | 23.08% | 47.28% | 8.40% |
Insider and Institutional Ownership
22.1% of American Coastal Insurance shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 59.0% of Heritage Insurance shares are held by institutional investors. 49.9% of American Coastal Insurance shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 15.2% of Heritage Insurance shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Earnings and Valuation
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| American Coastal Insurance | $335.44 million | 1.66 | $106.84 million | $2.14 | 5.36 |
| Heritage Insurance | $847.33 million | 0.95 | $195.59 million | $6.32 | 4.14 |
Heritage Insurance has higher revenue and earnings than American Coastal Insurance. Heritage Insurance is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than American Coastal Insurance, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for American Coastal Insurance and Heritage Insurance, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| American Coastal Insurance | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.50 |
| Heritage Insurance | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3.00 |
Heritage Insurance has a consensus target price of $33.50, suggesting a potential upside of 28.17%. Given Heritage Insurance’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Heritage Insurance is more favorable than American Coastal Insurance.
Volatility and Risk
American Coastal Insurance has a beta of -0.59, indicating that its stock price is 159% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Heritage Insurance has a beta of 0.95, indicating that its stock price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Heritage Insurance beats American Coastal Insurance on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About American Coastal Insurance
American Coastal Insurance Corporation operates as a property and casualty insurance holding company that sources, writes, and services residential personal and commercial property, and casualty insurance policies in the United States. The company offers structure, content, and liability coverage for standard single-family homeowners, renters, and condominium unit owners. It also provides commercial multi-peril property insurance for residential condominium associations and apartments, as well as loss or damage to buildings, inventory, and equipment caused by fire, wind, hail, water, theft, and vandalism. In addition, the company offers equipment breakdown, identity theft, cyber security, and flood policies. The company markets and distributes its products through a network of independent agencies. The company was formerly known as United Insurance Holdings Corp. and changed its name to American Coastal Insurance Corporation in August 2023. American Coastal Insurance Corporation was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Saint Petersburg, Florida.
About Heritage Insurance
Heritage Insurance Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides personal and commercial residential insurance products. The company offers personal residential insurance in Alabama, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Virginia; commercial residential insurance for properties in Florida, New Jersey, and New York; and licensed in the state of Pennsylvania, as well as personal residential and wind-only property insurance. It also provides restoration, emergency, and recovery services; property management, and reinsurance services; homeowners insurance products, including single-family, homeowners or duplex, and condominium owners; and dwelling fire insurance policies. In addition, the company provides personal line policies through a network of retail independent agents, wholesale agents, and a partnership with a direct agency, as well as distribute indirectly to retail locations through wholesale agency relationships. Further, it offers personal and commercial insurance policies through a network of independent agencies. The company was founded in 2012 and is headquartered in Tampa, Florida.
Receive News & Ratings for American Coastal Insurance Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for American Coastal Insurance and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
