Universal Insurance (UVE) Competitors

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

Is UVE or HTH more profitable?

Hilltop has a net margin of 6.65% compared to Universal Insurance's net margin of 4.82%. Universal Insurance's return on equity of 15.43% beat Hilltop's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Universal Insurance	4.82%	15.43%	2.37%
Hilltop	6.65%	4.90%	0.66%

Does the media refer more to UVE or HTH?

In the previous week, Hilltop had 3 more articles in the media than Universal Insurance. MarketBeat recorded 4 mentions for Hilltop and 1 mentions for Universal Insurance. Universal Insurance's average media sentiment score of 1.54 beat Hilltop's score of 0.85 indicating that Universal Insurance is being referred to more favorably in the media.

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

Which has more volatility & risk, UVE or HTH?

Universal Insurance has a beta of 0.93, suggesting that its share price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hilltop has a beta of 1.15, suggesting that its share price is 15% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the MarketBeat Community favor UVE or HTH?

Universal Insurance received 43 more outperform votes than Hilltop when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 63.41% of users gave Universal Insurance an outperform vote while only 52.83% of users gave Hilltop an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Universal Insurance	Outperform Votes 286 63.41%	Underperform Votes 165 36.59%
Hilltop	Outperform Votes 243 52.83%	Underperform Votes 217 47.17%

Do analysts prefer UVE or HTH?

Universal Insurance currently has a consensus target price of $25.00, suggesting a potential upside of 28.75%. Hilltop has a consensus target price of $34.50, suggesting a potential upside of 19.62%. Given Universal Insurance's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Universal Insurance is more favorable than Hilltop.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Universal Insurance	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
Hilltop	1 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	1.67

Do institutionals and insiders believe 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, 29.3% of Hilltop shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

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 3.3%. Hilltop pays an annual dividend of $0.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. Universal Insurance pays out 26.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Hilltop pays out 41.7% 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. Universal Insurance is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Which has better 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	$1.39B	0.39	$66.82M	$2.46	7.89
Hilltop	$1.57B	1.20	$109.65M	$1.63	17.69

Summary

Universal Insurance beats Hilltop on 12 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.