W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) & GAINSCO (OTCMKTS:GANS) Head-To-Head Comparison

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) and GAINSCO (OTCMKTS:GANS) 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, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, dividends and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares W. R. Berkley and GAINSCO’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
W. R. Berkley	11.96%	20.41%	4.16%
GAINSCO	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for W. R. Berkley and GAINSCO, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
W. R. Berkley	1	6	6	0	2.38
GAINSCO	0	0	0	0	0.00

W. R. Berkley presently has a consensus target price of $63.74, suggesting a potential upside of 7.69%. Given W. R. Berkley’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe W. R. Berkley is more favorable than GAINSCO.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

68.8% of W. R. Berkley shares are held by institutional investors. 23.0% of W. R. Berkley shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 73.5% of GAINSCO shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares W. R. Berkley and GAINSCO”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
W. R. Berkley	$13.16 billion	1.71	$1.38 billion	$3.90	15.18
GAINSCO	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

W. R. Berkley has higher revenue and earnings than GAINSCO.

Summary

W. R. Berkley beats GAINSCO on 8 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About W. R. Berkley

W. R. Berkley Corporation, an insurance holding company, operates as a commercial lines writers worldwide. It operates in two segments, Insurance and Reinsurance & Monoline Excess. The Insurance segment underwrites commercial insurance business, including excess and surplus lines, admitted lines, and specialty personal lines. This segment also provides accident and health insurance and reinsurance products; insurance for commercial risks; casualty and specialty environmental products; specialized insurance coverages for fine arts and jewelry exposures; excess liability and inland marine coverage for small to medium-sized insureds; and commercial general liability, umbrella, professional liability, directors and officers, commercial property, and surety products, as well as products for technology, and life sciences and travel industries. In addition, this segment offers cyber risk solutions; crime and fidelity insurance products; medical professional coverages; workers' compensation insurance products; general insurance; personal lines insurance solutions, including home, condo/co-op, auto, and collectibles; automobile, law enforcement, public officials and educator's legal, and employment practices liability, as well as incidental medical and property and crime insurance products; at-risk and alternative risk insurance program management services; professional liability; energy and marine risks; and provides insurance products to the Lloyd's marketplace. The Reinsurance & Monoline Excess segment provides treaty and facultative reinsurance solutions; property and casualty reinsurance; facultative reinsurance products include automatic, semi-automatic and individual risk assumed reinsurance; and turnkey products such as cyber, employment practices liability insurance, liquor liability insurance and violent events. The company was founded in 1967 and is headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut.

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.