Zurich Insurance Group (OTCMKTS:ZURVY) versus Burford Capital (NYSE:BUR) Critical Survey

Burford Capital (NYSE:BUR) and Zurich Insurance Group (OTCMKTS:ZURVY) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, dividends, risk, valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Risk and Volatility

Burford Capital has a beta of 0.53, meaning that its stock price is 47% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Zurich Insurance Group has a beta of 0.67, meaning that its stock price is 33% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Burford Capital pays an annual dividend of $0.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. Zurich Insurance Group pays an annual dividend of $0.91 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Burford Capital pays out 8.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Burford Capital and Zurich Insurance Group, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Burford Capital	0	0	3	0	3.00
Zurich Insurance Group	1	1	1	0	2.00

Burford Capital presently has a consensus target price of $19.50, indicating a potential upside of 39.99%. Given Burford Capital’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Burford Capital is more favorable than Zurich Insurance Group.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Burford Capital and Zurich Insurance Group”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Burford Capital	$563.24 million	5.42	$610.52 million	$1.43	9.74
Zurich Insurance Group	$56.10 billion	0.79	$4.35 billion	N/A	N/A

Zurich Insurance Group has higher revenue and earnings than Burford Capital.

Profitability

This table compares Burford Capital and Zurich Insurance Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Burford Capital	45.81%	12.58%	6.75%
Zurich Insurance Group	N/A	N/A	N/A

Insider & Institutional Ownership

0.0% of Zurich Insurance Group shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of Burford Capital shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.0% of Zurich Insurance Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Burford Capital beats Zurich Insurance Group on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Burford Capital

Burford Capital Limited provides legal finance products and services worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Capital Provision, and Asset Management and Other Provision. The Capital Provision segment provides capital to the legal industry or in connection with legal matters directly and through investment in private funds; legal risk management services; lower risk legal finance business focusing on pre-settlement litigation matters with lower risk and lower expected returns; post-settlement finance; and complex strategies in which it acts as a principal and acquires assets that are mispriced. The Asset Management and Other Services segment provides services to the legal industry, including litigation insurance. Burford Capital Limited was incorporated in 2009 and is based in Saint Peter Port, Guernsey.

About Zurich Insurance Group

Zurich Insurance Group AG, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance products and related services in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, North America, Latin America, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates through Property & Casualty Regions, Life Regions, Farmers, Group Functions and Operations, and Non-Core Businesses segments. It offers car and motor, home, travel, general liability, life and critical illness, and other insurance products; and saving and investment, and pension and retirement planning products. The company also provides property, casualty, energy and engineering lines, and marine; commercial management liability, financial institutions, and professional indemnity; and cyber, accident and health, and credit lines and surety insurance products, as well as and non-claims and ancillary services to the farmers exchanges. In addition, it offers employee benefit insurance products; and climate resilience, risk engineering, captive, and cyber resilience, as well as climate risk assessment and reinsurance services. The company serves individuals, small businesses, and mid-sized and large companies, as well as multinational corporations. It sells its products through agents, brokers, and bank distribution channels. Zurich Insurance Group AG was founded in 1872 and is based in Zurich, Switzerland.