Analyzing The Seibels Bruce Group (OTCMKTS:SBBG) & James River Group (NASDAQ:JRVR)

James River Group (NASDAQ:JRVR) and The Seibels Bruce Group (OTCMKTS:SBBG) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability, dividends, risk and earnings.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares James River Group and The Seibels Bruce Group’s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
James River Group	$812.01 million	0.41	-$107.68 million	($2.26)	-3.90
The Seibels Bruce Group	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

The Seibels Bruce Group has lower revenue, but higher earnings than James River Group.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for James River Group and The Seibels Bruce Group, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
James River Group	1	2	3	0	2.33
The Seibels Bruce Group	0	0	0	0	N/A

James River Group currently has a consensus price target of $12.33, suggesting a potential upside of 39.83%. Given James River Group’s higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe James River Group is more favorable than The Seibels Bruce Group.

Profitability

This table compares James River Group and The Seibels Bruce Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
James River Group	-10.80%	13.75%	1.49%
The Seibels Bruce Group	N/A	N/A	N/A

Volatility and Risk

James River Group has a beta of 0.17, suggesting that its stock price is 83% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, The Seibels Bruce Group has a beta of 3.79, suggesting that its stock price is 279% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

95.2% of James River Group shares are held by institutional investors. 15.2% of James River Group shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 55.4% of The Seibels Bruce Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

James River Group beats The Seibels Bruce Group on 6 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About James River Group

James River Group Holdings, Ltd., through its subsidiaries, provides specialty insurance services. It operates through Excess and Surplus Lines, and Specialty Admitted Insurance segments. The Excess and Surplus Lines segment underwrites liability and property insurance in the United States Puerto Rice, and the United States Virgin Islands. This segment distributes its insurance policies primarily through wholesale insurance brokers. The Specialty Admitted Insurance segment provides insurance for fronting, program administrators, managing general agents, and independent retail agents. James River Group Holdings, Ltd. was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in Pembroke, Bermuda.

About The Seibels Bruce Group

The Seibels Bruce Group, Inc. provides processing, technology, and claims solutions to the property and casualty insurance industry. The company offers processing solutions for coastal markets; business process outsourcing; claims administration solutions; information technology outsourcing; and professional services. It also provides technology solutions, such as IPX enterprise insurance suite, CPX claims management system, FNOL first notice of loss, and reinspection processing xpert solutions; and claims solutions, including third party administration, catastrophe management, first notice of loss, multi-line adjusting and examination, reinspection, and subrogation/salvage services. The company was founded in 1869 and is based in Columbia, South Carolina.