Comparing GAINSCO (OTCMKTS:GANS) & ProAssurance (NYSE:PRA)

ProAssurance (NYSE:PRA) and GAINSCO (OTCMKTS:GANS) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, risk, profitability, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends and earnings.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

85.6% of ProAssurance shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of ProAssurance shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 73.5% of GAINSCO shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for ProAssurance and GAINSCO, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ProAssurance	0	1	2	0	2.67
GAINSCO	0	0	0	0	N/A

ProAssurance currently has a consensus target price of $16.33, indicating a potential upside of 12.03%. Given ProAssurance’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe ProAssurance is more favorable than GAINSCO.

Profitability

This table compares ProAssurance and GAINSCO’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ProAssurance	-2.00%	0.86%	0.17%
GAINSCO	N/A	N/A	N/A

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares ProAssurance and GAINSCO”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ProAssurance	$1.14 billion	0.66	-$38.60 million	($0.44)	-33.14
GAINSCO	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

GAINSCO has lower revenue, but higher earnings than ProAssurance.

Summary

ProAssurance beats GAINSCO on 6 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ProAssurance

ProAssurance Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides property and casualty insurance, and reinsurance products in the United States. The company operates through Specialty Property and Casualty, Workers’ Compensation Insurance, and Segregated Portfolio Cell Reinsurance segments. It offers professional liability insurance to healthcare providers and institutions, and attorneys and their firms; medical technology liability insurance to medical technology and life sciences companies; and custom alternative risk solutions, including assumed reinsurance, loss portfolio transfers, and captive cell programs for healthcare professional liability insureds. The company also provides workers’ compensation insurance products, such as guaranteed cost policies, policyholder dividend policies, retrospectively rated policies, and deductible policies, as well as alternative market solutions that include program design, fronting, claims administration, risk management, SPC rental, asset management, and SPC management services for individual companies, agencies, groups, and associations. The company also participates in Syndicate 1729 at Lloyd’s of London for underwriting. It markets its products through independent agencies and brokers, as well as an internal business development team. The company was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama.

About GAINSCO

GAINSCO, Inc. operates as a property and casualty insurance holding company. The company offers non-standard personal auto products, including coverage for third party liability, bodily injury, and physical damage, as well as collision and coverage for theft, physical damage, and other perils for an insured's vehicle. It is also involved in automotive sales and service, auto racing, and investment activities. The company offers its automobile insurance products under the GAINSCO Auto Insurance brand through independent partner agents and Website comparison shopping places. GAINSCO, Inc. was founded in 1978 and is based in Dallas, Texas.