Universal Insurance (UVE) Competitors

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

Is HTH or UVE more profitable?

Hilltop has a net margin of 7.04% 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
Hilltop	7.04%	5.18%	0.71%
Universal Insurance	4.82%	15.43%	2.37%

Does the MarketBeat Community favor HTH or UVE?

Universal Insurance received 50 more outperform votes than Hilltop when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 63.97% of users gave Universal Insurance an outperform vote while only 52.71% of users gave Hilltop an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Hilltop	Outperform Votes 243 52.71%	Underperform Votes 218 47.29%
Universal Insurance	Outperform Votes 293 63.97%	Underperform Votes 165 36.03%

Which has more risk and volatility, HTH or UVE?

Hilltop has a beta of 1.14, suggesting that its share price is 14% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Universal Insurance has a beta of 0.84, suggesting that its share price is 16% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has preferable earnings and valuation, HTH or UVE?

Hilltop has higher earnings, but lower revenue 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	$1.12B	1.80	$113.21M	$1.74	17.91
Universal Insurance	$1.52B	0.42	$66.82M	$1.99	11.39

Does the media refer more to HTH or UVE?

In the previous week, Universal Insurance had 1 more articles in the media than Hilltop. MarketBeat recorded 6 mentions for Universal Insurance and 5 mentions for Hilltop. Hilltop's average media sentiment score of 1.65 beat Universal Insurance's score of 0.52 indicating that Hilltop is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Hilltop	5 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
Universal Insurance	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

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

57.1% of Hilltop shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 66.6% of Universal Insurance shares are held by institutional investors. 29.3% of Hilltop shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 17.5% of Universal Insurance shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Is HTH or UVE a better dividend stock?

Hilltop pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. Universal Insurance pays an annual dividend of $0.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Hilltop pays out 41.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Universal Insurance pays out 32.2% 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.

Do analysts recommend HTH or UVE?

Hilltop presently has a consensus target price of $34.00, suggesting a potential upside of 9.08%. Universal Insurance has a consensus target price of $25.00, suggesting a potential upside of 10.25%. Given Universal Insurance's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Universal Insurance is more favorable than Hilltop.

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

Summary

Universal Insurance beats Hilltop on 13 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.