Universal Insurance (UVE) Competitors

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

Is UVE or HTH a better dividend stock?

Universal Insurance pays an annual dividend of $0.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Hilltop pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. Universal Insurance pays out 27.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Hilltop pays out 36.5% 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.

Which has more volatility & risk, UVE or HTH?

Universal Insurance has a beta of 0.86, meaning that its share price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hilltop has a beta of 0.87, meaning that its share price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has preferable valuation and earnings, UVE or HTH?

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
Universal Insurance	$1.52B	0.48	$58.93M	$2.29	11.33
Hilltop	$1.61B	1.27	$113.21M	$1.97	16.20

Does the media refer more to UVE or HTH?

In the previous week, Hilltop had 9 more articles in the media than Universal Insurance. MarketBeat recorded 10 mentions for Hilltop and 1 mentions for Universal Insurance. Hilltop's average media sentiment score of 1.02 beat Universal Insurance's score of 0.00 indicating that Hilltop is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Universal Insurance	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Hilltop	2 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts recommend UVE or HTH?

Hilltop has a consensus target price of $33.00, suggesting a potential upside of 3.42%. Given Hilltop's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Hilltop is more favorable than Universal Insurance.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Universal Insurance	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00
Hilltop	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Is UVE or HTH more profitable?

Hilltop has a net margin of 7.87% compared to Universal Insurance's net margin of 4.31%. Universal Insurance's return on equity of 15.73% beat Hilltop's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Universal Insurance	4.31%	15.73%	2.30%
Hilltop	7.87%	5.79%	0.80%

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in UVE or HTH?

66.6% of Universal Insurance shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 57.1% of Hilltop shares are owned by institutional investors. 17.5% of Universal Insurance shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 29.9% of Hilltop shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Hilltop beats Universal Insurance on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.