Financial Contrast: Amacore Group (OTCMKTS:ACGI) versus Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG)

Amacore Group (OTCMKTS:ACGI) and Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, risk, profitability, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Risk and Volatility

Amacore Group has a beta of 3.35, indicating that its stock price is 235% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Principal Financial Group has a beta of 0.89, indicating that its stock price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Amacore Group and Principal Financial Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Amacore Group	N/A	N/A	N/A
Principal Financial Group	10.10%	16.25%	0.57%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

75.1% of Principal Financial Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.1% of Principal Financial Group shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Amacore Group and Principal Financial Group”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Amacore Group	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Principal Financial Group	$15.63 billion	1.40	$1.19 billion	$6.99	14.47

Principal Financial Group has higher revenue and earnings than Amacore Group.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Amacore Group and Principal Financial Group, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Amacore Group	0	0	0	0	0.00
Principal Financial Group	1	7	3	0	2.18

Principal Financial Group has a consensus price target of $96.90, suggesting a potential downside of 4.19%. Given Amacore Group’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Amacore Group is more favorable than Principal Financial Group.

Summary

Principal Financial Group beats Amacore Group on 8 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Amacore Group

The Amacore Group, Inc. provides and markets healthcare-related membership products for individuals and families. Its products include limited and major medical insurance programs, supplemental medical insurance, and discount dental and vision programs. The company also provides and markets lifestyle membership programs, including insurance discounts, discount benefit savings, ID theft, legal counsel, credit management, automotive warranties, employment protection, and a host of others. The company serves insurance carriers, financial institutions, affiliate marketers, direct marketers, insurance agents, and fortune 500 companies. It distributes its products and services through various distribution methods, such as its agent network, inbound call center, in-house sales representatives, network marketing, and affinity marketing partners, as well as through third-party direct response marketers. The Amacore Group, Inc. was formerly known as Eye Care International Inc. and changed its name to The Amacore Group, Inc. in April 2005. The company was founded in 1993 and is based in Maitland, Florida.

About Principal Financial Group

Principal Financial Group, Inc. provides retirement, asset management, and insurance products and services to businesses, individuals, and institutional clients worldwide. The company operates through Retirement and Income Solutions, Principal Global Investors, Principal International, and U.S. Insurance Solutions segments. The Retirement and Income Solutions segment provides a portfolio of asset accumulation products and services for retirement savings and income. It offers products and services for defined contribution plans, including 401(k) and 403(b) plans, defined benefit pension plans, nonqualified executive benefit plans, employee stock ownership plans, equity compensation, and pension risk transfer services; individual retirement accounts; investment only products; and mutual funds, individual variable annuities, and bank products. The Principal Global Investors segment provides equity, fixed income, real estate, and other alternative investments, as well as asset allocation, stable value management, and other structured investment strategies. The Principal International segment offers pension accumulation products and services, mutual funds, asset management, income annuities, and life insurance accumulation products, as well as voluntary savings plans in Brazil, Chile, Mexico, China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, India, and Southeast Asia. The U.S. Insurance Solutions segment provides specialty benefits, such as group dental and vision insurance, group life insurance, and group and individual disability insurance, as well as administers group dental, disability, and vision benefits; and individual life insurance products comprising universal, variable universal, indexed universal, and term life insurance products in the United States. It also offers insurance solutions for small and medium-sized businesses and their owners, as well as executives. Principal Financial Group, Inc. was founded in 1879 and is based in Des Moines, Iowa.