Contrasting Gjensidige Forsikring ASA (OTCMKTS:GJNSY) & Octave Specialty Group (NYSE:OSG)

Octave Specialty Group (NYSE:OSG) and Gjensidige Forsikring ASA (OTCMKTS:GJNSY) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk, profitability, valuation and institutional ownership.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Octave Specialty Group and Gjensidige Forsikring ASA”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Octave Specialty Group	$251.22 million	0.82	-$261.69 million	($3.65)	-1.25
Gjensidige Forsikring ASA	N/A	N/A	N/A	$8.72	3.46

Gjensidige Forsikring ASA has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Octave Specialty Group. Octave Specialty Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Gjensidige Forsikring ASA, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Octave Specialty Group and Gjensidige Forsikring ASA, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Octave Specialty Group	1	2	1	0	2.00
Gjensidige Forsikring ASA	0	0	0	0	0.00

Octave Specialty Group presently has a consensus target price of $15.00, suggesting a potential upside of 229.67%. Given Octave Specialty Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Octave Specialty Group is more favorable than Gjensidige Forsikring ASA.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

80.9% of Octave Specialty Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.0% of Gjensidige Forsikring ASA shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.2% of Octave Specialty Group shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Octave Specialty Group and Gjensidige Forsikring ASA’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Octave Specialty Group	-51.10%	0.44%	0.17%
Gjensidige Forsikring ASA	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

Octave Specialty Group beats Gjensidige Forsikring ASA on 8 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Octave Specialty Group

Ambac Financial Group, Inc. operates as a financial services holding company. It operates three businesses: Specialty Property and Casualty Insurance, Insurance Distribution, and Legacy Financial Guarantee (LFG) Insurance. The Specialty Property and Casualty Insurance business provides specialty property and casualty program insurance with a focus commercial and personal liability risks. The Insurance Distribution business includes the specialty property and casualty insurance distribution business, which includes managing general agents and underwriters, insurance wholesalers, brokers, and other distribution businesses. The LFG Insurance business offers financial guarantee insurance policies that provide an unconditional and irrevocable guarantee, which protects the holder of a debt obligation against non-payment when due of the principal and interest on the obligations guaranteed. Ambac Financial Group, Inc. was incorporated in 1991 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

About Gjensidige Forsikring ASA

Gjensidige Forsikring ASA engages in the provision of general insurance and pension products in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. The company operates through five segments: General Insurance Private, General Insurance Commercial, General Insurance Sweden, General Insurance Baltics, and Pension. It offers motor, property, accident and health, liability, marine/transport, natural perils, agriculture, travel, leisure craft, valuables, commercial, and life insurance products. The company also provides defined contribution occupational pension schemes for businesses, which include disability pension, spouse/cohabitant pension, and child's pension products. It distributes its products through various distribution channels comprising office channel, call center, Internet, partners, and brokers to private and commercial customers. The company was founded in 1816 and is headquartered in Oslo, Norway. Gjensidige Forsikring ASA operates as a subsidiary of GjensidigeStiftelsen.