Head-To-Head Survey: Atlas Financial (OTCMKTS:AFHIF) versus United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS)

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) and Atlas Financial (OTCMKTS:AFHIF) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for United Fire Group and Atlas Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
United Fire Group	0	1	3	0	2.75
Atlas Financial	0	0	0	0	0.00

United Fire Group currently has a consensus price target of $51.00, suggesting a potential downside of 3.34%. Given Atlas Financial’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Atlas Financial is more favorable than United Fire Group.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

62.7% of United Fire Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.1% of United Fire Group shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 14.4% of Atlas Financial shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares United Fire Group and Atlas Financial”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
United Fire Group	$1.43 billion	0.95	$118.19 million	$4.96	10.64
Atlas Financial	N/A	N/A	N/A	($0.78)	N/A

United Fire Group has higher revenue and earnings than Atlas Financial. Atlas Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than United Fire Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk and Volatility

United Fire Group has a beta of 0.5, indicating that its stock price is 50% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Atlas Financial has a beta of -8.58, indicating that its stock price is 958% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares United Fire Group and Atlas Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
United Fire Group	9.16%	14.65%	3.51%
Atlas Financial	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

United Fire Group beats Atlas Financial on 9 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About United Fire Group

United Fire Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides property and casualty insurance for individuals and businesses in the United States. The company offers commercial and personal lines of property and casualty insurance; and reinsurance coverage for property and casualty insurance. Its commercial lines include fire and allied lines, other liability, automobile, workers’ compensation, fidelity and surety coverage, and other insurance products; and personal lines comprise automobile, and fire and allied lines coverage, including homeowners, as well as provides assumed reinsurance products. The company sells its products through a network of independent agencies. United Fire Group, Inc. was incorporated in 1946 and is headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

About Atlas Financial

Atlas Financial Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiary, Anchor Group Management, Inc., engages in generating, underwriting, and servicing of commercial automobile insurance in the United States. The company's automobile insurance products provide insurance coverage in three areas, including liability, accident benefits, and physical damage. It focuses on the light commercial automobile sector, including taxi cabs, non-emergency paratransit, limousine, livery, and business autos. It distributes its insurance products through a network of independent retail agents. Atlas Financial Holdings, Inc. was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Schaumburg, Illinois.