Analyzing United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) & Bowhead Specialty (NYSE:BOW)

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) and Bowhead Specialty (NYSE:BOW) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, earnings, profitability, dividends, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

62.7% of United Fire Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.0% of United Fire Group shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for United Fire Group and Bowhead Specialty, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
United Fire Group	0	1	0	0	2.00
Bowhead Specialty	0	3	2	0	2.40

United Fire Group presently has a consensus target price of $26.00, suggesting a potential downside of 12.01%. Bowhead Specialty has a consensus target price of $32.00, suggesting a potential downside of 6.73%. Given Bowhead Specialty’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Bowhead Specialty is more favorable than United Fire Group.

Profitability

This table compares United Fire Group and Bowhead Specialty’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
United Fire Group	4.15%	6.75%	1.51%
Bowhead Specialty	N/A	N/A	N/A

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares United Fire Group and Bowhead Specialty”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
United Fire Group	$1.21 billion	0.62	-$29.70 million	$1.94	15.23
Bowhead Specialty	$389.11 million	2.88	N/A	N/A	N/A

Bowhead Specialty has lower revenue, but higher earnings than United Fire Group.

Summary

United Fire Group beats Bowhead Specialty on 6 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About United Fire Group

United Fire Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides property and casualty insurance for individuals and businesses in the United States. The company offers commercial and personal lines of property and casualty insurance; and reinsurance coverage for property and casualty insurance. Its commercial lines include fire and allied lines, other liability, automobile, workers’ compensation, fidelity and surety coverage, and other insurance products; and personal lines comprise automobile, and fire and allied lines coverage, including homeowners, as well as provides assumed reinsurance products. The company sells its products through a network of independent agencies. United Fire Group, Inc. was incorporated in 1946 and is headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

About Bowhead Specialty

Bowhead Specialty Holdings Inc. provides specialty property and casualty insurance products in the United States. It underwrites casualty insurance solutions for risks in the construction, distribution, heavy manufacturing, real estate, and hospitality segments; professional liability insurance solutions for financial institutions, private and public directors and officers liability insurance, errors and omissions liability insurance, and cyber segments; and healthcare solutions for hospitals, senior care providers, managed care organizations, miscellaneous medical facilities, and healthcare management liability segments. The company distributes its products through distribution partners in wholesale and retail markets. Bowhead Specialty Holdings Inc. was formerly known as Bowhead Holdings Inc. and changed its name to Bowhead Specialty Holdings Inc. in March 2024. The company was founded in 2020 and is based in New York, New York. Bowhead Specialty Holdings Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Bowhead Insurance Holdings LP.