Critical Contrast: Everest Group (NYSE:EG) & Aegon (NYSE:AEG)

Aegon (NYSE:AEG) and Everest Group (NYSE:EG) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, earnings, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Aegon and Everest Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Aegon	N/A	N/A	N/A
Everest Group	9.09%	12.50%	3.08%

Risk and Volatility

Aegon has a beta of 0.78, suggesting that its share price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Everest Group has a beta of 0.34, suggesting that its share price is 66% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

4.3% of Aegon shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.6% of Everest Group shares are held by institutional investors. 1.1% of Everest Group shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Aegon and Everest Group”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Aegon	$17.05 billion	0.83	$744.48 million	($0.16)	-44.22
Everest Group	$17.50 billion	0.75	$1.59 billion	$37.86	8.55

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Aegon and Everest Group, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Aegon	0	3	3	1	2.71
Everest Group	0	10	6	0	2.38

Everest Group has a consensus target price of $363.21, suggesting a potential upside of 12.15%. Given Everest Group’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Everest Group is more favorable than Aegon.

Dividends

Aegon pays an annual dividend of $0.42 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.9%. Everest Group pays an annual dividend of $8.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Aegon pays out -262.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Everest Group pays out 21.1% 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. Everest Group has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Aegon is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

Everest Group beats Aegon on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Aegon

Aegon Ltd. provides insurance, pensions, retirement, and asset management services in the United States, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company offers life, accident, property and casualty, and health insurance; annuities, retirement plans, mutual funds, and stable value solutions; residential mortgage and digital baking services; and retail and institutional investment management solutions and retirement savings vehicles and strategies. It offers its products under the Aegon and Transamerica brands. Aegon Ltd. was founded in 1844 and is headquartered in The Hague, the Netherlands.

About Everest Group

Everest Group, Ltd., through its subsidiaries, provides reinsurance and insurance products in the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through two segment, Insurance and Reinsurance. The Reinsurance segment writes property and casualty reinsurance; and specialty lines of business through reinsurance brokers, as well as directly with ceding companies in the United States, Bermuda, Ireland, Canada, Singapore, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The Insurance Operations segment writes property and casualty insurance directly, as well as through brokers, surplus lines, and general agents in the United States, Bermuda, Canada, Europe, South America, Singapore, France, Germany, Spain, Canada, Chile, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the Netherlands. The company also provides treaty and facultative reinsurance products; admitted and non-admitted insurance products; and accident and health, specialty underwriters, eversports and entertainment, and surety and credit, marine and aviation, as well as structured and property hybrid solutions. In addition, it offers commercial property and casualty insurance products through wholesale and retail brokers, surplus lines brokers, and program administrators. The company was formerly known as Everest Re Group, Ltd. and changed its name to Everest Group, Ltd. in July 2023.Everest Group, Ltd., was founded in 1973 and is headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda.