Head-To-Head Contrast: Maiden (NASDAQ:MHLD) & Everest Group (NYSE:EG)

Maiden (NASDAQ:MHLD) and Everest Group (NYSE:EG) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, dividends, valuation and risk.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Maiden and Everest Group, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Maiden	0	0	0	0	N/A
Everest Group	0	5	5	1	2.64

Everest Group has a consensus target price of $439.27, suggesting a potential upside of 13.90%. Given Everest Group’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Everest Group is more favorable than Maiden.

Dividends

Maiden pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 12.0%. Everest Group pays an annual dividend of $8.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Maiden pays out -76.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Everest Group pays out 11.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Maiden is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Volatility and Risk

Maiden has a beta of 1.23, meaning that its share price is 23% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Everest Group has a beta of 0.61, meaning that its share price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

21.8% of Maiden shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.6% of Everest Group shares are held by institutional investors. 8.2% of Maiden shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.2% of Everest Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Maiden and Everest Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Maiden	-34.06%	-14.06%	-2.36%
Everest Group	18.36%	24.09%	6.32%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Maiden and Everest Group”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Maiden	$98.10 million	1.71	-$38.57 million	($0.26)	-6.42
Everest Group	$14.59 billion	1.14	$2.52 billion	$67.73	5.69

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

Summary

Everest Group beats Maiden on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Maiden

Maiden Holdings, Ltd., through its subsidiaries, provides property and casualty insurance and reinsurance solutions to regional and specialty insurers in Europe, North America, and internationally. It operates in two segments, Diversified Reinsurance and AmTrust Reinsurance. The company writes treaties on a quota share basis and excess of loss basis. It also offers auto and credit life insurance products through its insurer partners to retail clients; and underwrites risks on a retroactive basis, which provides a range of legacy services to small insurance entities. Maiden Holdings, Ltd. was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Pembroke, Bermuda.

About Everest Group

Everest Group, Ltd., through its subsidiaries, provides reinsurance and insurance products in the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through two segment, Insurance and Reinsurance. The Reinsurance segment writes property and casualty reinsurance; and specialty lines of business through reinsurance brokers, as well as directly with ceding companies in the United States, Bermuda, Ireland, Canada, Singapore, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The Insurance Operations segment writes property and casualty insurance directly, as well as through brokers, surplus lines, and general agents in the United States, Bermuda, Canada, Europe, South America, Singapore, France, Germany, Spain, Canada, Chile, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the Netherlands. The company also provides treaty and facultative reinsurance products; admitted and non-admitted insurance products; and accident and health, specialty underwriters, eversports and entertainment, and surety and credit, marine and aviation, as well as structured and property hybrid solutions. In addition, it offers commercial property and casualty insurance products through wholesale and retail brokers, surplus lines brokers, and program administrators. The company was formerly known as Everest Re Group, Ltd. and changed its name to Everest Group, Ltd. in July 2023.Everest Group, Ltd., was founded in 1973 and is headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda.