Contrasting RLI (NYSE:RLI) and Fidelis Insurance (NYSE:FIHL)

RLI (NYSE:RLI) and Fidelis Insurance (NYSE:FIHL) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, dividends, risk, valuation, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Dividends

RLI pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. Fidelis Insurance pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. RLI pays out 16.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Fidelis Insurance pays out 42.6% 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. RLI has raised its dividend for 51 consecutive years.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

77.9% of RLI shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 82.0% of Fidelis Insurance shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.2% of RLI shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares RLI and Fidelis Insurance’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
RLI	19.53%	16.63%	4.76%
Fidelis Insurance	20.17%	15.27%	3.36%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares RLI and Fidelis Insurance”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
RLI	$1.77 billion	3.91	$345.78 million	$3.75	20.13
Fidelis Insurance	$2.42 billion	0.73	$2.13 billion	$0.94	16.86

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for RLI and Fidelis Insurance, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
RLI	1	3	3	0	2.29
Fidelis Insurance	1	2	3	0	2.33

RLI currently has a consensus price target of $79.80, suggesting a potential upside of 5.70%. Fidelis Insurance has a consensus price target of $19.71, suggesting a potential upside of 24.38%. Given Fidelis Insurance’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Fidelis Insurance is more favorable than RLI.

Volatility & Risk

RLI has a beta of 0.49, indicating that its share price is 51% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Fidelis Insurance has a beta of 0.28, indicating that its share price is 72% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

RLI beats Fidelis Insurance on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About RLI

RLI Corp., an insurance holding company, underwrites property and casualty insurance. Its Casualty segment provides commercial and personal coverage products; and general liability products, such as coverage for third-party liability of commercial insureds, including manufacturers, contractors, apartments, and mercantile. It also offers coverages for security guards and environmental liability for underground storage tanks, contractors and asbestos, and environmental remediation specialists; and professional liability coverages for errors and omission coverage for small to medium-sized design, technical, computer, and miscellaneous professionals. This segment provides commercial automobile liability and physical damage insurance to local, intermediate and long haul truckers, public transportation entities, and other types of specialty commercial automobile risks; incidental and related insurance coverages; inland marine coverages; management liability coverages, such as directors and officers liability insurance, fiduciary liability and coverages, employment practice liability, and for various classes of risks, including public and private businesses; and home business insurance products. The company's Property segment offers commercial property, cargo, hull, protection and indemnity, marine liability, inland marine, homeowners' and dwelling fire, and other property insurance products. Its Surety segment offers commercial surety bonds for medium to large-sized businesses; small bonds for businesses and individuals; and bonds for small to medium-sized contractors. The company also engages in various reinsurance coverages. It markets its products through branch offices, wholesale and retail brokers, carrier partners, and underwriting and independent agents. RLI Corp. was incorporated in 1965 and is headquartered in Peoria, Illinois.

About Fidelis Insurance

Fidelis Insurance Holdings Limited, a specialty insurer, provides insurance and reinsurance solutions in Bermuda, the Republic of Ireland, and the United Kingdom. It operates in three segments: Specialty, Reinsurance, and Bespoke segments. The Specialty segment offers aviation and aerospace, energy, marine, property direct and facultative, and other specialty risk solutions. The Reinsurance segment provides property, retrocession, and whole account reinsurance solutions. The Bespoke segment offers customized risk solutions for clients that include credit and political risk, as well as other risk transfer opportunities, including political violence and terrorism, limited cyber reinsurance, tax liabilities, title, transactional liabilities, and other bespoke solutions. Fidelis Insurance Holdings Limited was incorporated in 2014 and is headquartered in Pembroke, Bermuda.