Critical Analysis: Crawford & Company (NYSE:CRD.B) and Citizens (NYSE:CIA)

Crawford & Company (NYSE:CRD.B) and Citizens (NYSE:CIA) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, dividends and profitability.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Crawford & Company and Citizens”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Crawford & Company	$1.31 billion	0.45	$19.63 million	$0.48	25.20
Citizens	$255.62 million	0.78	$14.59 million	$0.21	17.02

Crawford & Company has higher revenue and earnings than Citizens. Citizens is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Crawford & Company, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

11.0% of Crawford & Company shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 13.7% of Citizens shares are held by institutional investors. 51.0% of Crawford & Company shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.2% of Citizens shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Crawford & Company and Citizens’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Crawford & Company	1.81%	28.15%	6.51%
Citizens	4.55%	4.73%	0.63%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Crawford & Company and Citizens, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Crawford & Company	0	0	0	1	4.00
Citizens	0	1	2	0	2.67

Citizens has a consensus target price of $5.50, indicating a potential upside of 53.89%. Given Citizens’ higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Citizens is more favorable than Crawford & Company.

Risk and Volatility

Crawford & Company has a beta of 0.64, meaning that its stock price is 36% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Citizens has a beta of 0.43, meaning that its stock price is 57% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Crawford & Company beats Citizens on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Crawford & Company

Crawford & Co. engages in the provision of claims management and outsourcing solutions to carriers, brokers, and corporates. It operates through the following segments: Crawford Loss Adjusting, Crawford TPA Solutions, and Crawford Platform Solutions. The Crawford Loss Adjusting segment consists of adjusting services provided to insurance companies and self-insured entities related to property and casualty losses caused by physical damage to commercial and residential real property and certain types of personal property. The Crawford TPA Solutions segment provides third party administration for workers’ compensation, auto and liability, disability absence management, medical management, and accident and health to corporations, brokers, and insurers worldwide. The Crawford Platform Solutions segment is involved in the management of contractor networks and the provision of claims management services to insurance companies and self-insured entities related to property, casualty, and catastrophic losses. The company was founded by Jim Crawford in 1941 and is headquartered in Peachtree Corners, GA.

About Citizens

Citizens, Inc. provides life insurance products in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Life Insurance and Home Service Insurance. The Life Insurance segment issues ordinary whole life insurance and endowment policies in the United States dollar-denominated amounts to non-U.S. residents in through independent marketing agencies and consultants. The Home Service Insurance segment offers final expense life insurance and property insurance policies to middle-and lower-income households, as well as whole life products in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas. This segment provides its products and services through funeral homes and independent agents. The company provides accident and health insurance policies. Citizens, Inc. was founded in 1969 and is headquartered in Austin, Texas.