Universal Insurance (UVE) Competitors

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

Which has more risk & volatility, UVE or HCI?

Universal Insurance has a beta of 0.87, indicating that its share price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, HCI Group has a beta of 1.24, indicating that its share price is 24% more volatile than the S&P 500.

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

66.6% of Universal Insurance shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.0% of HCI Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 17.5% of Universal Insurance shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 21.9% of HCI Group shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media refer more to UVE or HCI?

In the previous week, HCI Group had 6 more articles in the media than Universal Insurance. MarketBeat recorded 9 mentions for HCI Group and 3 mentions for Universal Insurance. Universal Insurance's average media sentiment score of 1.82 beat HCI Group's score of 1.31 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	3 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
HCI Group	6 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts rate UVE or HCI?

HCI Group has a consensus price target of $181.25, indicating a potential upside of 10.60%. Given HCI Group's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe HCI Group 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
HCI Group	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Is UVE or HCI more profitable?

HCI Group has a net margin of 18.58% compared to Universal Insurance's net margin of 4.24%. HCI Group's return on equity of 25.84% beat Universal Insurance's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Universal Insurance	4.24%	15.37%	2.21%
HCI Group	18.58%	25.84%	6.58%

Is UVE or HCI a better dividend stock?

Universal Insurance pays an annual dividend of $0.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. HCI Group pays an annual dividend of $1.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Universal Insurance pays out 27.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. HCI Group pays out 14.2% 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.

Which has preferable valuation and earnings, UVE or HCI?

HCI Group has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Universal Insurance. Universal Insurance is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than HCI Group, 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	$1.57B	0.44	$58.93M	$2.29	10.73
HCI Group	$750.05M	2.83	$109.95M	$11.28	14.53

Summary

HCI Group beats Universal Insurance on 15 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.