Scor (OTCMKTS:SCRYY) versus James River Group (NASDAQ:JRVR) Critical Survey
by Sarita Garza · The Markets DailyScor (OTCMKTS:SCRYY – Get Free Report) and James River Group (NASDAQ:JRVR – Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership and risk.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
95.2% of James River Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 33.8% of James River Group shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Profitability
This table compares Scor and James River Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Scor | 5.55% | 20.42% | 2.35% |
| James River Group | 6.90% | 12.01% | 1.23% |
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Scor and James River Group, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Scor | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2.50 |
| James River Group | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2.20 |
James River Group has a consensus target price of $7.25, suggesting a potential upside of 17.89%. Given James River Group’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe James River Group is more favorable than Scor.
Dividends
Scor pays an annual dividend of $0.13 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. James River Group pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Scor pays out 24.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. James River Group pays out 5.5% 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.
Volatility and Risk
Scor has a beta of 0.55, meaning that its stock price is 45% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, James River Group has a beta of -0.06, meaning that its stock price is 106% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Scor and James River Group”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Scor | $17.39 billion | 0.36 | $962.60 million | $0.54 | 6.42 |
| James River Group | $687.61 million | 0.41 | $47.43 million | $0.73 | 8.42 |
Scor has higher revenue and earnings than James River Group. Scor is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than James River Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
About Scor
SCOR SE, together with its subsidiaries, provides life and non-life reinsurance products in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Americas, Latin America, and Asia Pacific. It operates in two segments, SCOR P&C and SCOR L&H. The SCOR P&C segment offers reinsurance products in the areas of property, motors, casualty treaties, credit and surety, decennial insurance, aviation, marine and energy, engineering, agricultural risks, and property catastrophes; specialties insurance products, including business solutions, political and credit risks, cyber, and environmental liability; and business ventures and partnerships. The SCOR L&H segment provides life reinsurance products, such as protection for mortality, morbidity, behavioral risks, disability, long-term care, critical illness, medical, and personal accident. This segment also provides financial solutions that combine traditional life reinsurance with financial components and provide liquidity, balance sheet, solvency, and income improvements to clients; longevity solutions that include products covering the risk of negative deviation from expected results due to the insured or annuitant living longer than assumed in the pricing of insurance covers provided by insurers or pension funds; and distribution solutions. In addition, it is involved in the asset management business. SCOR SE was founded in 1970 and is headquartered in Paris, France.
About James River Group
James River Group Holdings, Ltd., through its subsidiaries, provides specialty insurance services. It operates through Excess and Surplus Lines, and Specialty Admitted Insurance segments. The Excess and Surplus Lines segment underwrites liability and property insurance in the United States Puerto Rice, and the United States Virgin Islands. This segment distributes its insurance policies primarily through wholesale insurance brokers. The Specialty Admitted Insurance segment provides insurance for fronting, program administrators, managing general agents, and independent retail agents. James River Group Holdings, Ltd. was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in Pembroke, Bermuda.