Critical Analysis: EverQuote (NASDAQ:EVER) and American International Group (NYSE:AIG)

EverQuote (NASDAQ:EVER) and American International Group (NYSE:AIG) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, risk, profitability and dividends.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

91.5% of EverQuote shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 90.6% of American International Group shares are held by institutional investors. 25.5% of EverQuote shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of American International Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares EverQuote and American International Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
EverQuote	14.34%	57.65%	39.98%
American International Group	11.56%	9.79%	2.48%

Volatility and Risk

EverQuote has a beta of 0.55, indicating that its share price is 45% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, American International Group has a beta of 0.58, indicating that its share price is 42% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for EverQuote and American International Group, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
EverQuote	0	2	6	0	2.75
American International Group	0	12	8	1	2.48

EverQuote presently has a consensus price target of $23.83, indicating a potential upside of 56.90%. American International Group has a consensus price target of $88.17, indicating a potential upside of 20.72%. Given EverQuote’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe EverQuote is more favorable than American International Group.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares EverQuote and American International Group”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
EverQuote	$692.52 million	0.79	$99.31 million	$2.64	5.75
American International Group	$26.78 billion	1.46	$3.10 billion	$5.42	13.48

American International Group has higher revenue and earnings than EverQuote. EverQuote is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than American International Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

American International Group beats EverQuote on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About EverQuote

EverQuote, Inc. operates an online marketplace for insurance shopping in the United States. The company offers auto, home and renters, and life insurance. The company serves carriers and agents, as well as indirect distributors. The company was formerly known as AdHarmonics, Inc., and changed its name to EverQuote, Inc. in November 2014. EverQuote, Inc. was incorporated in 2008 and is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

About American International Group

American International Group, Inc. offers insurance products for commercial, institutional, and individual customers in North America and internationally. It operates through three segments: General Insurance, Life and Retirement, and Other Operations. The General Insurance segment provides commercial and industrial property insurance, including business interruption and package insurance that cover exposure to made and natural disasters; general liability, environmental, commercial automobile liability, workers’ compensation, excess casualty, and crisis management insurance products; and professional liability insurance. This segment offers marine, energy-related property insurance, aviation, political risk, trade credit, trade finance, and portfolio solutions, as well as operates reinsurance business; voluntary and sponsor-paid personal accident, and supplemental health products; and personal auto and personal property insurance. Its Life and Retirement segment offers individual retirement products, including variable, fixed index, and fixed annuities, as well as retail mutual funds; group retirement products comprising record-keeping, plan administrative and compliance services, financial planning, and advisory solutions; life insurance, including term and universal life insurance; and institutional markets products, which includes wrap products, structured settlement, pension risk transfer annuities, corporate and bank-owned life insurance, high net worth, and guaranteed investment contract products. It distributes its products through a network of brokers, agents, advisors, banks, and other distributors. The company was founded in 1919 and is headquartered in New York, New York.