Analyzing Hippo (NYSE:HIPO) and BlackRock TCP Capital (NASDAQ:TCPC)

Hippo (NYSE:HIPO) and BlackRock TCP Capital (NASDAQ:TCPC) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership and dividends.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Hippo and BlackRock TCP Capital”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Hippo	$296.90 million	1.47	-$273.10 million	($10.08)	-1.78
BlackRock TCP Capital	-$32.89 million	-21.65	$38.47 million	$0.35	23.77

BlackRock TCP Capital has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Hippo. Hippo is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than BlackRock TCP Capital, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

43.0% of Hippo shares are owned by institutional investors. 11.4% of Hippo shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of BlackRock TCP Capital shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

Hippo has a beta of 1.35, indicating that its share price is 35% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, BlackRock TCP Capital has a beta of 1.48, indicating that its share price is 48% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Hippo and BlackRock TCP Capital’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hippo	-57.80%	-46.46%	-11.11%
BlackRock TCP Capital	-20.11%	14.42%	5.92%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Hippo and BlackRock TCP Capital, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hippo	0	2	1	0	2.33
BlackRock TCP Capital	1	5	0	0	1.83

Hippo currently has a consensus target price of $19.00, indicating a potential upside of 6.12%. BlackRock TCP Capital has a consensus target price of $9.00, indicating a potential upside of 8.17%. Given BlackRock TCP Capital’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe BlackRock TCP Capital is more favorable than Hippo.

Summary

BlackRock TCP Capital beats Hippo on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Hippo

Hippo Holdings Inc. provides property and casualty insurance products to individuals and business customers primarily in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Services, Insurance-as-a-Service, and Hippo Home Insurance Program. Its insurance products include homeowners' insurance against risks of fire, wind, and theft, as well as other personal lines policies from third party carriers; and personal and commercial, as well as home, auto, cyber, small business, life, specialty lines, and other insurance products. The company distributes insurance products and services through its technology platform and website, as well as operates licensed insurance agencies. Hippo Holdings Inc. is headquartered in Palo Alto, California.

About BlackRock TCP Capital

BlackRock TCP Capital Corp. is a business development company specializing in direct equity and debt investments in middle-market, small businesses, debt securities, senior secured loans, junior loans, originated loans, mezzanine, senior debt instruments, bonds, and secondary-market investments. It typically invests in communication services, public relations services, television, wireless telecommunication services, apparel, textile mills, restaurants, retailing, energy, oil and gas extraction, Patent owners and Lessors, Federal and Federally- Sponsored Credit agencies, insurance, hospital and healthcare centers, Biotechnology, engineering services, heavy electrical equipment, tax accounting, scientific and related consulting services, charter freight air transportation, Information technology consulting, application hosting services, software diagram and design, computer aided design, communication equipment, electronics manufacturing equipment, computer components, chemicals. It seeks to invest in the United States. The fund typically invests between $10 million and $35 million in companies with enterprise values between $100 million and $1500 million including complex situations. It prefers to make equity investments in companies for an ownership stake.