Critical Contrast: Crawford & Company (NYSE:CRD.A) versus TWFG (NASDAQ:TWFG)

TWFG (NASDAQ:TWFG) and Crawford & Company (NYSE:CRD.A) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends, earnings, profitability and risk.

Volatility and Risk

TWFG has a beta of 0.18, meaning that its share price is 82% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Crawford & Company has a beta of 0.83, meaning that its share price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

22.6% of Crawford & Company shares are held by institutional investors. 68.4% of TWFG shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 54.3% of Crawford & Company shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
TWFG	2.90%	19.49%	15.20%
Crawford & Company	1.81%	28.15%	6.51%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for TWFG and Crawford & Company, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
TWFG	0	4	4	0	2.50
Crawford & Company	0	0	1	0	3.00

TWFG presently has a consensus price target of $29.57, suggesting a potential upside of 23.16%. Crawford & Company has a consensus price target of $14.00, suggesting a potential upside of 12.34%. Given TWFG’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe TWFG is more favorable than Crawford & Company.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares TWFG and Crawford & Company”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
TWFG	$247.08 million	5.25	$7.96 million	$0.59	40.69
Crawford & Company	$1.31 billion	0.46	$19.63 million	$0.47	26.51

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

Summary

TWFG beats Crawford & Company on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About TWFG

TWFG, Inc. operates an independent distribution platform for personal and commercial insurance products in the United States. Its personal and commercial insurance products include auto, home, renters, life, health, motorcycle, umbrella, boat, recreational vehicle, flood, wind, event, luxury item, general liability, property, business auto, workers’ compensation, business owner policy, and professional liability insurance products, as well as commercial bonds and group benefits. The company was founded in 2001 and is based in The Woodlands, Texas. TWFG, Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Bunch Family Holdings, LLC.

About Crawford & Company

Crawford & Company provides claims management and outsourcing solutions to the risk management and insurance industry, and self-insured entities. The company's Crawford Claims Solutions segment offers claims management services related to property, casualty, and catastrophe losses caused by physical damage to commercial and residential real properties, and personal properties, as well as marine losses. It also offers services in the areas of field investigation, catastrophe, evaluation, and resolution of property and casualty insurance claims; and various on-demand inspection, verification, and other task specific field services for businesses and consumers through a mobile platform. Its Crawford TPA Solutions segment provides claims and risk management services; desktop claim adjusting and claims evaluation services; initial loss reporting services for claimants; loss mitigation services, such as medical bill review and case management, and vocational rehabilitation services; and risk management information services, as well as administers trust funds established to pay claims. It offers services for workers' compensation, auto and liability, disability absence and medical management, and accident and health markets. The company's Crawford Specialty Solutions segment offers claims management services related to large and complex losses in various industries, such as commercial property, aviation, forensic accounting, marine and transportation, retail, building and construction, cyber, and energy. It also provides a customer-centric solution for various loss types comprising high-frequency and low-complexity claims, and large complex repairs; and outsourced contractor management services to personal and commercial insurance carriers, and consumer markets. The company operates in the United States, the United Kingdom and the rest of Europe, Canada, Australia, and internationally. Crawford & Company was founded in 1941 and is based in Peachtree Corners, Georgia.