Is Conifer Holdings, Inc.’s (NASDAQ:CNFR) CEO Salary Justified?
In 2009 Jim Petcoff was appointed CEO of Conifer Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNFR). This analysis aims first to contrast CEO compensation with other companies that have similar market capitalization. After that, we will consider the growth in the business. And finally – as a second measure of performance – we will look at the returns shareholders have received over the last few years. The aim of all this is to consider the appropriateness of CEO pay levels.
See our latest analysis for Conifer Holdings
How Does Jim Petcoff’s Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?
At the time of writing our data says that Conifer Holdings, Inc. has a market cap of US$35m, and is paying total annual CEO compensation of US$597k. (This number is for the twelve months until December 2017). We think total compensation is more important but we note that the CEO salary is lower, at US$550k. We looked at a group of companies with market capitalizations under US$200m, and the median CEO compensation was US$414k.
As you can see, Jim Petcoff is paid more than the median CEO pay at companies of a similar size, in the same market. However, this does not necessarily mean Conifer Holdings, Inc. is paying too much. We can better assess whether the pay is overly generous by looking into the underlying business performance.
You can see a visual representation of the CEO compensation at Conifer Holdings, below.
Is Conifer Holdings, Inc. Growing?
Conifer Holdings, Inc. has reduced its earnings per share by an average of 61% a year, over the last three years (measured with a line of best fit). In the last year, its revenue is up 6.1%.
Sadly for shareholders, earnings per share are actually down, over three years. The fairly low revenue growth fails to impress given that the earnings per share is down. So given this relatively weak performance, shareholders would probably not want to see high compensation for the CEO. Shareholders might be interested in this free visualization of analyst forecasts.
Has Conifer Holdings, Inc. Been A Good Investment?
Given the total loss of 34% over three years, many shareholders in Conifer Holdings, Inc. are probably rather dissatisfied, to say the least. So shareholders would probably think the company shouldn’t be too generous with CEO compensation.
In Summary…
We compared the total CEO remuneration paid by Conifer Holdings, Inc., and compared it to remuneration at a group of similar sized companies. We found that it pays well over the median amount paid in the benchmark group.
Earnings per share have not grown in three years, and the revenue growth fails to impress us.
Just as bad, share price gains for investors have failed to materialize, over the same period. This analysis suggests to us that the CEO is paid too generously! If you think CEO compensation levels are interesting you will probably really like this free visualization of insider trading at Conifer Holdings.
Arguably, business quality is much more important than CEO compensation levels. So check out this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.
If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
