Analyzing Palomar (PLMR) & The Competition

Palomar (NASDAQ:PLMR) is one of 311 publicly-traded companies in the “Insurance” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its peers? We will compare Palomar to similar companies based on the strength of its profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, risk and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Palomar and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Palomar	17.60%	25.27%	6.60%
Palomar Competitors	9.15%	-9.84%	4.10%

Volatility and Risk

Palomar has a beta of 0.28, meaning that its stock price is 72% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Palomar’s peers have a beta of -1.59, meaning that their average stock price is 259% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Palomar and its peers top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Palomar	$875.97 million	$197.07 million	19.49
Palomar Competitors	$15.53 billion	$1.70 billion	34.40

Palomar’s peers have higher revenue and earnings than Palomar. Palomar is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Palomar and its peers, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Palomar	0	1	6	0	2.86
Palomar Competitors	3336	15674	16522	741	2.40

Palomar currently has a consensus price target of $164.80, suggesting a potential upside of 5.84%. As a group, “Insurance” companies have a potential upside of 5.98%. Given Palomar’s peers higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Palomar has less favorable growth aspects than its peers.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

90.2% of Palomar shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 55.8% of shares of all “Insurance” companies are held by institutional investors. 3.7% of Palomar shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 13.6% of shares of all “Insurance” companies are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Palomar pays an annual dividend of $1.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Palomar pays out 22.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Insurance” companies pay a dividend yield of 2.9% and pay out 31.0% of their earnings in the form of a dividend.

Summary

Palomar beats its peers on 8 of the 15 factors compared.

Palomar Company Profile

Palomar Holdings, Inc., a specialty insurance company, provides property and casualty insurance to residential and businesses in the United States. The company offers personal and commercial specialty property insurance products, including residential and commercial earthquake, fronting, commercial all risk, specialty homeowners, inland marine, Hawaii hurricane, and residential flood, as well as other products, such as assumed reinsurance. It markets and distributes its products through retail agents, wholesale brokers, program administrators, and carrier partnerships. The company was formerly known as GC Palomar Holdings and changed its name to Palomar Holdings, Inc. The company was incorporated in 2013 and is headquartered in La Jolla, California.