Universal Insurance (UVE) Competitors

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) and Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, media sentiment, valuation, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends and institutional ownership.

Which has higher valuation and earnings, HTH or UVE?

Hilltop has higher revenue and earnings than Universal Insurance. Universal Insurance is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Hilltop, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Hilltop	$1.61B	1.38	$113.21M	$2.23	15.83
Universal Insurance	$1.52B	0.45	$58.93M	$2.29	10.62

Is HTH or UVE more profitable?

Hilltop has a net margin of 8.90% compared to Universal Insurance's net margin of 4.24%. Universal Insurance's return on equity of 15.37% beat Hilltop's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hilltop	8.90%	6.46%	0.91%
Universal Insurance	4.24%	15.37%	2.21%

Does the media refer more to HTH or UVE?

In the previous week, Hilltop had 7 more articles in the media than Universal Insurance. MarketBeat recorded 10 mentions for Hilltop and 3 mentions for Universal Insurance. Universal Insurance's average media sentiment score of 1.77 beat Hilltop's score of 1.50 indicating that Universal Insurance is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Hilltop	7 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Universal Insurance	3 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive

Which has more volatility and risk, HTH or UVE?

Hilltop has a beta of 0.87, meaning that its share price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Universal Insurance has a beta of 0.87, meaning that its share price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts prefer HTH or UVE?

Hilltop currently has a consensus price target of $32.00, indicating a potential downside of 9.33%. Given Hilltop's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Hilltop is more favorable than Universal Insurance.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hilltop	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00
Universal Insurance	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of HTH or UVE?

57.1% of Hilltop shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 66.6% of Universal Insurance shares are owned by institutional investors. 29.9% of Hilltop shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 16.6% of Universal Insurance shares are owned by company 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.

Is HTH or UVE a better dividend stock?

Hilltop pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Universal Insurance pays an annual dividend of $0.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Hilltop pays out 32.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Universal Insurance pays out 27.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Hilltop has increased its dividend for 8 consecutive years. Universal Insurance is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

Hilltop beats Universal Insurance on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.