Financial Survey: Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) vs. Hagerty (NYSE:HGTY)

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

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Hagerty and Universal Insurance”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Hagerty	$1.46 billion	2.46	$49.02 million	$0.33	31.66
Universal Insurance	$1.60 billion	0.58	$182.95 million	$6.31	5.25

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

Profitability

This table compares Hagerty and Universal Insurance’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hagerty	5.98%	16.24%	4.81%
Universal Insurance	11.41%	37.28%	6.02%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

20.5% of Hagerty shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 66.6% of Universal Insurance shares are held by institutional investors. 16.7% of Hagerty shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 16.6% of Universal Insurance shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

Hagerty has a beta of 0.9, meaning that its stock price is 10% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Universal Insurance has a beta of 0.67, meaning that its stock price is 33% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Hagerty and Universal Insurance, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hagerty	0	4	4	0	2.50
Universal Insurance	0	0	2	1	3.33

Hagerty currently has a consensus target price of $14.00, suggesting a potential upside of 34.00%. Universal Insurance has a consensus target price of $40.00, suggesting a potential upside of 20.75%. Given Hagerty’s higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Hagerty is more favorable than Universal Insurance.

Summary

Universal Insurance beats Hagerty on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Hagerty

Hagerty, Inc. provides insurance agency services worldwide. It offers motor vehicle and boat insurance products; and reinsurance products. The company provides Hagerty Media, which publishes contents through the Hagerty Drivers Club Magazine (HDC), video content, and social media channels; HDC that offers subscription based products and services, including HDC Magazine, automotive enthusiast events, proprietary vehicle valuation tools, emergency roadside services, and special vehicle-related discounts. In addition, it offers HVT, a valuation tool used by the customer to access current and historic pricing data of collector vehicle models. Further, the company offers Hagerty Garage + Social, a platform that provides clubhouses and car storage facilities. Hagerty, Inc. is headquartered in Traverse City, Michigan.

About Universal Insurance

Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated insurance holding company in the United States. It develops, markets, and underwrites insurance products for personal residential insurance, such as homeowners, renters/tenants, condo unit owners, and dwelling/fire; and offers allied lines, coverage for other structures, and personal property, liability, and personal articles coverages. The company also advises on actuarial issues, oversees distribution, administers claims payments, performs policy administration and underwriting, and assists with reinsurance negotiations; places and manages reinsurance programs for the insurance entities; and operates Clovered.com, a digital agency for various carrier partners and utilization of digital applications for adjusting claims. It offers its products through a network of independent agents, as well as direct-to-consumer online solutions, including digital insurance agency. The company was formerly known as Universal Heights, Inc. and changed its name to Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. in January 2001. Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. was incorporated in 1990 and is headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.